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Trails/Kiseki series version details


MosesRockefeller

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I wasn't quite sure where to post this, but I'm trying to put together a list of for the Trails series. As I progress in the series (I'm halfway through Trails in the Sky SC now), I'm trying to figure out the various options for each game, and get the version that makes the most sense. So please, veterans of the series (looking at you especially, @Satoshi Ookami :) ), point out any errors and help me get my list correct. I'm not likely to import non-localized games, so this mostly affects the Trails of Cold Steel series for me. I'm putting Cold Steel 1 and 2 on a single line for PS3 and Vita, because I think the only difference is graphics. Please correct me if that's incorrect.

 

Series				#	Title				Platform	Localized	Voices		Text		Notes

Trails in the Sky		1	Trails in the Sky FC		PSP		Yes		None		English	
Trails in the Sky		1	Trails in the Sky FC		PC		Yes		None		English	
Trails in the Sky		1	Trails in the Sky FC Evolution	Vita		No		Japanese	Japanese	Gameplay improvements
Trails in the Sky		2	Trails in the Sky SC		PSP		Yes		None		English	
Trails in the Sky		2	Trails in the Sky SC		PC		Yes		None		English	
Trails in the Sky		2	Trails in the Sky SC Evolution	Vita		No		Japanese	Japanese	Gameplay improvements
Trails in the Sky		3	Trails in the Sky the 3rd	PSP		No		None		Japanese	
Trails in the Sky		3	Trails in the Sky the 3rd	PC		Yes		None		English	
Trails in the Sky		3	Trails in the Sky the 3rd Ev.	Vita		No		Japanese	Japanese	Gameplay improvements
Crossbell duology		1	Zero no Kiseki			PSP		No		None		Japanese	
Crossbell duology		1	Zero no Kiseki			PC		No		None		Japanese	
Crossbell duology		1	Zero no Kiseki Evolution	Vita		No		Japanese	Japanese	Gameplay improvements
Crossbell duology		2	Ao no Kiseki			PSP 		No		None		Japanese	
Crossbell duology		2	Ao no Kiseki Evolution		Vita		No		Japanese	Japanese	Gameplay improvements
Cold Steel			1	Trails of Cold Steel		PS3/Vita	Yes		English		English		Crossplay between PS3 and Vita
Cold Steel			1	Trails of Cold Steel		PC		Yes		Dual		English		Has extra English voice-acting; Japanese audio coming as free DLC
Cold Steel			1	Trails of Cold Steel		PS4		Yes		Dual		English		Has extra English voice-acting; Not released yet
Cold Steel			2	Trails of Cold Steel II		PS3/Vita	Yes		English		English		Crossplay between PS3 and Vita
Cold Steel			2	Trails of Cold Steel II		PC		Yes		Dual		English		Has extra English voice-acting; Japanese audio coming as free DLC
Cold Steel			2	Trails of Cold Steel II		PS4		Yes		Dual		English		Has extra English voice-acting; Not released yet
Cold Steel			3	Trails of Cold Steel III	PS4		No		Japanese	Japanese	
Cold Steel			4	Trails of Cold Steel IV		PS4		No		Japanese	Japanese	Not released yet

 

 

One thing I'm curious about, and I'm not sure anyone knows the answer yet, is whether the PS4 remasters of Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 support crossplay with the Vita versions. I know you can import saves (maybe from other platforms), but can they do crossplay, or at least a one-way transfer from Vita to PS4 of an in-progress save file?

 

Once I get to Trails of Cold Steel 1, I have to decide how I'm going to play it. I really like the "play on the small screen out of the house, and play on the TV in the house" ability of the Switch, so I'm seriously considering getting the PS3 and Vita versions and switching back and forth. But the PS4 versions are tempting me, however I don't know if they will let me go back and forth with the Vita versions. Yes, I know that by the time Cold Steel 3 and 4 are finally localized, they will almost certainly only be PS4 (and/or PC). But I want to play as much of the series on handheld as I can.

Edited by MosesRockefeller
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XSEED has confirmed CS1&2 PS4 versions will have cross-save. I'm not sure about trophies, though.

 

And Sen IV was released nearly a month ago, Sept 26 if I recall correctly (Mine arrived a week ago, btw)

 

Edit: For cohesion, I would recommend calling each series for its region. Sky-Crosbell-ColdSteel feels weird, I think Liberl-Crossbell-Erebonia sounds better, tbh.

Edited by felidraziken
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4 minutes ago, felidraziken said:

XSEED has confirmed CS1&2 PS4 versions will have cross-save. I'm not sure about trophies, though.

 

And Sen IV was released nearly a month ago, Sept 26 if I recall correctly (Mine arrived a week ago, btw)

If I had know that I would have played the PS3 editions. No big deal though I can wait for the PS4 versions.

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7 minutes ago, felidraziken said:

XSEED has confirmed CS1&2 PS4 versions will have cross-save. I'm not sure about trophies, though.

 

And Sen IV was released nearly a month ago, Sept 26 if I recall correctly (Mine arrived a week ago, btw)

Thanks for that info. I guess "cross-save" means the saves can go back and forth and not just a one-time import (that's how cross-save works with past games at least). I don't care about trophies for massive JRPGs like this - I only go for Platinums in more manageable games like Neptunia where my enjoyment of the story doesn't suffer from using a trophy guide.

 

Also thanks for the note on Cold Steel 4 being released. I was using Wikipedia as my source for this and should have known it would be out of date. Anyway, it doesn't matter to me since I'm waiting for the localization for 3 and 4 (which will probably arrive by the time I finish all the prior games).

 

Also, I originally had the Japanese names in my table, but I struggled with the formatting and kept cutting stuff out to make it manageable.

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9 minutes ago, MosesRockefeller said:

Thanks for that info. I guess "cross-save" means the saves can go back and forth and not just a one-time import (that's how cross-save works with past games at least). I don't care about trophies for massive JRPGs like this - I only go for Platinums in more manageable games like Neptunia where my enjoyment of the story doesn't suffer from using a trophy guide.

 

Also thanks for the note on Cold Steel 4 being released. I was using Wikipedia as my source for this and should have known it would be out of date. Anyway, it doesn't matter to me since I'm waiting for the localization for 3 and 4 (which will probably arrive by the time I finish all the prior games).

 

Also, I originally had the Japanese names in my table, but I struggled with the formatting and kept cutting stuff out to make it manageable.

I understand, Kiseki games are long to plat. Im trying to do it to because I love the series and I would love to 100% them (And the PC versions of Liberl Saga, of course) but I understand is very hard and tedious to others.

 

Btw, I read you're at SC. Enjoy the saga, is pretty worth it!

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There is also PC version of Ao no Kiseki, it's only in Chinese though.

 

Also Zero and Ao for PSP have little bit of voice acting for battle and in some scenes. I think this goes with all PC versions.

 

And, Sora FC, Sora SC and Sora the Third have PS3 versions also. They are equal to Evo versions minus the new artwork, voice acting and trophies.

Edited by killivincent
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44 minutes ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

I'm not sure about the PSP versions, but FC, SC, and 3rd have voice acting on PC. It's only in battles, though, so I don't know if that counts.

Yeah, the PSP versions of FC and SC has a short spoken line from the character who struck the final blow in battle. They also say a short line when selected for the party in SC. I don't think that counts compared to games that have actual spoken conversations.

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40 minutes ago, MosesRockefeller said:

Yeah, the PSP versions of FC and SC has a short spoken line from the character who struck the final blow in battle. They also say a short line when selected for the party in SC. I don't think that counts compared to games that have actual spoken conversations.

 

Yeah, that makes sense. It's probably unnecessary, but you could add a section noting the amount of voice acting. The Evo versions would be "Full", Sen I-IV would be "Partial", etc.

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2 minutes ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

 

Yeah, that makes sense. It's probably unnecessary, but you could add a section noting the amount of voice acting. The Evo versions would be "Full", Sen I-IV would be "Partial", etc.

I guess that's why the PC/PS4 versions of Cold Steel 1 and 2 have extra voiced lines (in English). Since you indicated 1-4, I'm guessing even the Japanese versions aren't fully acted. I've gotten used to JRPGs not being fully voice acted so it's not a big deal either way. For example, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has voices for the main story and some side quests, but not all of them. Honestly it will be kind of weird when I get to the point in this series where the characters start talking and the games have 3D environments. :)

 

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7 minutes ago, MosesRockefeller said:

I guess that's why the PC/PS4 versions of Cold Steel 1 and 2 have extra voiced lines (in English). Since you indicated 1-4, I'm guessing even the Japanese versions aren't fully acted.

 

With those extra lines, there's actually more voice acting than the Japanese versions. Either way, I couldn't care less about the English voice acting, but I'll spare you my opinion any further on the matter. As you've seen yourself, these games have massive scripts. I can't even imagine the amount of time and money it would take to fully voice them. I think the reason the Evo versions were fully voiced is because they were outsourced to another company — one that likely had the budget to do it. 

 

20 minutes ago, MosesRockefeller said:

I've gotten used to JRPGs not being fully voice acted so it's not a big deal either way. For example, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has voices for the main story and some side quests, but not all of them.

 

Partial voice acting is definitely better than nothing, at least. While I do like voice acting, it doesn't really matter to me if it is full, partial, or there's none at all. What got me into RPGs in the first place were games from the SNES era (Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, etc.) 

 

36 minutes ago, MosesRockefeller said:

Honestly it will be kind of weird when I get to the point in this series where the characters start talking and the games have 3D environments. :)

 

It's even weirder seeing areas in 3D that previously only existed in 2D.

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17 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

With those extra lines, there's actually more voice acting than the Japanese versions. Either way, I couldn't care less about the English voice acting, but I'll spare you my opinion any further on the matter. As you've seen yourself, these games have massive scripts. I can't even imagine the amount of time and money it would take to fully voice them. I think the reason the Evo versions were fully voiced is because they were outsourced to another company — one that likely had the budget to do it.

Interesting. Also, thanks for being civil about voice acting. I feel like there is a general lack of civility just about everywhere these days, and I for one am sick of trying to explain my opinions when people don't seem to accept alternate viewpoints. Maybe I need to create a signature saying "yes I like English dubs; no I'm not going to argue about it". :)

 

Anyway, yes I agree about the effort to fully voice the Trails series. It would be insane. Even the Kingdom Hearts games aren't fully voiced, and those have Square Enix behind them.

 

17 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Partial voice acting is definitely better than nothing, at least. While I do like voice acting, it doesn't really matter to me if it is full, partial, or there's none at all. What got me into RPGs in the first place were games from the SNES era (Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, etc.) 

I started in the PC WRPG world, with games like Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. I missed out on pretty much all the early JRPGs, and now I can't get into most of them. On the other hand, after moving from PC-only gaming to console-only gaming about 6 years ago, I can't imagine ever playing a PC WRPG again, and even stuff like Fallout usually doesn't interest me much.

 

Most of the PC RPGs back then didn't have much voice acting either. I don't mind reading, especially when the script is as interesting as funny as the Trails series (so far at least).

Edited by MosesRockefeller
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On 10/18/2018 at 6:04 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

Interesting. Also, thanks for being civil about voice acting. I feel like there is a general lack of civility just about everywhere these days, and I for one am sick of trying to explain my opinions when people don't seem to accept alternate viewpoints. Maybe I need to create a signature saying "yes I like English dubs; no I'm not going to argue about it". :)

 

I know what you mean; nothing good can come from arguing about it. I've pretty much separated myself from these kinds of never-ending, pointless arguments — probably due to having the misfortune of speaking to shitty people on both sides over the last few years.

 

On 10/18/2018 at 6:04 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

I started in the PC WRPG world, with games like Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. I missed out on pretty much all the early JRPGs, and now I can't get into most of them. On the other hand, after moving from PC-only gaming to console-only gaming about 6 years ago, I can't imagine ever playing a PC WRPG again, and even stuff like Fallout usually doesn't interest me much.

 

I mostly played PC games when I was in high school, but I switched to back to consoles as I gradually became more interested in Japanese games. I still play some games on PC occasionally, usually exclusives. I'm sure there are some western RPGs worth your time; though this is coming from a guy who has probably played three or four of them lol. As for early JRPGs, I'd highly recommend Chrono Trigger (if you haven't already played it). If you ask me, it's truly timeless. I was blown away by how amazing it was when I first played it, and at that time the game was about 16-17 years old.

 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the rest of SC. I never get tired of reading people's reactions to the last few chapters and the ending.

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15 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

I know what you mean; nothing good can come from arguing about it. I've pretty much separated myself from these kinds of never-ending, pointless arguments — probably due to having the misfortune of speaking to shitty people on both sides over the last few years.

Just like politics and movie opinions, it seems like people are on one extreme or the other. Personally I think I'm more balanced. I just started playing Yakuza 0, and I don't think I would play that series with an English dub even if it were available. The game series is set in Japan and all the characters are Japanese (well except for a few "gaijin" of course). But on the other hand, the Trails series is a fantasy JRPG series with a sort of steampunk setting. If there is an English dub available (like in Cold Steel 1 & 2), I'm probably going to use that. 

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

I mostly played PC games when I was in high school, but I switched to back to consoles as I gradually became more interested in Japanese games. I still play some games on PC occasionally, usually exclusives. I'm sure there are some western RPGs worth your time; though this is coming from a guy who has probably played three or four of them lol. As for early JRPGs, I'd highly recommend Chrono Trigger (if you haven't already played it). If you ask me, it's truly timeless. I was blown away by how amazing it was when I first played it, and at that time the game was about 16-17 years old.

I was always a PC elitist until my friend got me into the Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil series. That was back around 2012. I haven't gone back to PC since then, although I will have to for Trails in the Sky the 3rd (which I already bought on Steam). 

 

I probably could enjoy a few WRPGs now but I have enough JRPGs to keep me busy well into old age. The last few WRPGs I tried to enjoy on console were big failures for me. 

 

As for early JRPGs, I have a hard time getting into old games now. I know Chrono Trigger is supposed to be great, but I have a feeling I would be longing for quality of life features that I've come to expect with more modern RPGs. 

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the rest of SC. I never get tired of reading people's reactions to the last few chapters and the ending.

I'm pretty early in Chapter 5 now. One change I really like over FC is the ability to choose my party (for the most part, sometimes one specific member is mandatory besides Estelle). As far as the story goes, I'm liking it as much if not more than FC so far. My typical party is Estelle, Schera, Kloe, and Olivier. I also like Zane a lot, but I find that arts are typically more useful than melee skills. 

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2 hours ago, MosesRockefeller said:

Just like politics and movie opinions, it seems like people are on one extreme or the other. Personally I think I'm more balanced. I just started playing Yakuza 0, and I don't think I would play that series with an English dub even if it were available. The game series is set in Japan and all the characters are Japanese (well except for a few "gaijin" of course). But on the other hand, the Trails series is a fantasy JRPG series with a sort of steampunk setting. If there is an English dub available (like in Cold Steel 1 & 2), I'm probably going to use that.

 

For me it's all about having the experience as close to the original as possible. I couldn't even tell you exactly why, but that's just how I prefer anime and games. I wasn't always like this; that's just how I've come to feel over the last few years.

 

3 hours ago, MosesRockefeller said:

I was always a PC elitist until my friend got me into the Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil series. That was back around 2012. I haven't gone back to PC since then, although I will have to for Trails in the Sky the 3rd (which I already bought on Steam). 

 

I probably could enjoy a few WRPGs now but I have enough JRPGs to keep me busy well into old age. The last few WRPGs I tried to enjoy on console were big failures for me. 

 

As for early JRPGs, I have a hard time getting into old games now. I know Chrono Trigger is supposed to be great, but I have a feeling I would be longing for quality of life features that I've come to expect with more modern RPGs. 

 

Oh, that's right, the localization of the 3rd is only on PC. It's well worth going back to PC for it, not that I need to tell you that.

 

That's understandable. There are so many games out there that you're better off sticking to what you know you'll enjoy. I rarely buy games these days unless I know I'm going to play them soon after. I already have a ridiculous backlog on Steam alone after years of summer and winter sales.

 

Chrono Trigger actually has some things that even modern RPGs lack, though I can see how some aspects of it could feel dated. It's a small thing, but I love how it's possible to walk away in the middle of a dialogue box. There are also no random encounters, which is a huge plus.

 

5 hours ago, MosesRockefeller said:

I'm pretty early in Chapter 5 now. One change I really like over FC is the ability to choose my party (for the most part, sometimes one specific member is mandatory besides Estelle). As far as the story goes, I'm liking it as much if not more than FC so far. My typical party is Estelle, Schera, Kloe, and Olivier. I also like Zane a lot, but I find that arts are typically more useful than melee skills. 

 

Being able to choose your party is great, but it can also be hard to pick sometimes. This becomes even more of a problem in the 3rd, where you'll have 16 characters to choose from by the end. I haven't counted yet, but Sen IV has even more than that. I'd say there are easily over 20, probably closer to 30 if you count all the guest characters. 

 

Anyway, Chapter 5 is great, but what comes after is even better. I won't say anything more than that, though. Also, arts are most certainly better than physical attacks in most cases. It's not quite as bad as FC, where physical attacks were pretty much useless against the final boss, but it's still noticeable.

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On 10/21/2018 at 1:05 AM, Cave_Johnson_ said:

For me it's all about having the experience as close to the original as possible. I couldn't even tell you exactly why, but that's just how I prefer anime and games. I wasn't always like this; that's just how I've come to feel over the last few years.

Nothing wrong with being a purist. I guess the one place where that really applies to me is original aspect ratio. I don't want to see TV or movies squashed or cut down to make non-widescreen content into widescreen. Thankfully, after the death of VHS that seems to mostly be an issue of the past.

 

In most other areas though, I'm not a purist. Most of the Star Wars original trilogy edits don't bother me, for example. I know, I'm weird. I'll be 40 in two years, and I just don't find myself getting worked up by stuff like that anymore.

 

I would never enjoy a live-action movie or TV dub. I'll watch it if it's something I really want to see and that's the only version available, but I always prefer the original language whenever possible. It matches the lips of the performers in most cases (unless they had to be re-dubbed in post-production, which does happen sometimes), and it feels more natural even when I don't understand the language being spoken. That doesn't extend to video games and animated TV/movies for me, however. The main place I see a benefit in a dub is in comic or conversational scenes. Good English dubs can and often do use slang that makes it more natural or funnier for me as a native English speaker. Usually those games/movies/shows have good subtitles as well, but if I can read a good joke AND hear it, I want to hear it too.

 

Anyway, as I said I don't want to get into it too much, but I'd like to think there is some logic behind my preferences. I know what is most enjoyable to me, so that's what I do. I think it's great when media has dual audio so that it's the best of both worlds.

 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:05 AM, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Oh, that's right, the localization of the 3rd is only on PC. It's well worth going back to PC for it, not that I need to tell you that.

 

Chrono Trigger actually has some things that even modern RPGs lack, though I can see how some aspects of it could feel dated. It's a small thing, but I love how it's possible to walk away in the middle of a dialogue box. There are also no random encounters, which is a huge plus.

As I said, I already bought the 3rd on Steam and I installed it on my work Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I launched it and if the opening scene (which I watched out of the corner of my eye but thankfully had no spoilers I noticed) is anything to judge by, it runs great, even at the Surface's >1080p native resolution. It's no substitute for a Vita or Switch, but at least I can enjoy it semi-portable. I even bought a video converter cable so I can hook it up to my TV when I'm home, and get an experience somewhat like the Switch.

 

That's cool about Chrono Trigger. I don't think I've ever played a RPG where you can just leave conversations like that. :) I hate random encounters - I don't know how I pushed through the original Hyperdimension Neptunia after playing the 3 remakes on Vita, with those damn random encounters. Maybe I should wait for the inevitable next remaster/port of Chrono Trigger and try it out then. I'm just very picky about QoL features at this point in my gaming life. I finally tried Zelda Ocarina of Time after hearing how it was the best game ever for so many years, and I dropped it after a couple of hours when I discovered that I couldn't save anywhere and resume from the same spot. In my mind, the game was wasting my time even though that wasn't an extremely common feature back then. So yeah, I can be pretty picky about that stuff. One reason I really like the Trails series is that it has such great QoL features. No random encounters (although there are scripted fights of course), the ability to escape from almost every fight (I haven't tried it on boss battles), the ability to retry failed battles on a lower difficulty, being able to save anywhere outside of battle and cutscenes, etc. I think my only "wish list" item is the ability to review past dialog. Every once in a while I'll miss something because I mis-time Circle and miss the end of a dialog box.

 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:05 AM, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Being able to choose your party is great, but it can also be hard to pick sometimes. This becomes even more of a problem in the 3rd, where you'll have 16 characters to choose from by the end. I haven't counted yet, but Sen IV has even more than that. I'd say there are easily over 20, probably closer to 30 if you count all the guest characters. 

Exactly. The only no-brainer choice for me is Olivier with his mastery of arts and huge mana pool. After that, it's a bit of a toss up. I usually take a few seconds to eliminate people I don't find that good (e.g. Agate with his poor arts lines), and then just add whoever is left. But even then, it's not like I would fail by using those characters - they all are pretty competent in battle. It's a credit to the series that the characters are so interesting that it is hard to pick a party. I guess I should be glad a certain ranged character isn't a permanent party member, or I would have yet ANOTHER character to choose from.

 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:05 AM, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Anyway, Chapter 5 is great, but what comes after is even better. I won't say anything more than that, though. Also, arts are most certainly better than physical attacks in most cases. It's not quite as bad as FC, where physical attacks were pretty much useless against the final boss, but it's still noticeable.

I'm typically a mana hoarder, if that's an actual RPG gameplay style. I'm always afraid of running out of mana in games unless it automatically refills (which coincidentally I have that ability on Olivier at the moment), but the Trails series has forced me to re-think that habit. I don't tend to use arts on weak enemies, but I let it rip a lot of the time.

 

I can't remember if it was the final boss or a near-final boss in FC, but I seem to remember a boss where one half was susceptible to physical attacks, and one half was susceptible to arts. That was an interesting fight.

Edited by MosesRockefeller
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On 10/22/2018 at 6:30 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

Anyway, as I said I don't want to get into it too much, but I'd like to think there is some logic behind my preferences. I know what is most enjoyable to me, so that's what I do. I think it's great when media has dual audio so that it's the best of both worlds.

 

Dual audio is great, as no one can really complain then. But of course, someone will find something to complain about, because it's the internet...

 

On 10/22/2018 at 6:30 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

As I said, I already bought the 3rd on Steam and I installed it on my work Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I launched it and if the opening scene (which I watched out of the corner of my eye but thankfully had no spoilers I noticed) is anything to judge by, it runs great, even at the Surface's >1080p native resolution. It's no substitute for a Vita or Switch, but at least I can enjoy it semi-portable. I even bought a video converter cable so I can hook it up to my TV when I'm home, and get an experience somewhat like the Switch.

 

I did something similar when I played FC and SC Evo on Vita. The PS TV is a great device; I'm not sure why it failed so miserably. It seemed to solve the number one complaint about handhelds I see online: not wanting to play games on a small screen. I guess it must have been that there was seemingly no marketing for it, and a general lack of interest in the Vita itself.

 

On 10/22/2018 at 6:30 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

That's cool about Chrono Trigger. I don't think I've ever played a RPG where you can just leave conversations like that. :) I hate random encounters - I don't know how I pushed through the original Hyperdimension Neptunia after playing the 3 remakes on Vita, with those damn random encounters. Maybe I should wait for the inevitable next remaster/port of Chrono Trigger and try it out then. I'm just very picky about QoL features at this point in my gaming life. I finally tried Zelda Ocarina of Time after hearing how it was the best game ever for so many years, and I dropped it after a couple of hours when I discovered that I couldn't save anywhere and resume from the same spot. In my mind, the game was wasting my time even though that wasn't an extremely common feature back then. So yeah, I can be pretty picky about that stuff.

 

More games really should have that. I often get stuck talking to NPCs because I accidentally hit X, A, O, etc. one too many times. I can't stand random encounters, either. They are a relic of the past that should've been eradicated long ago. I often use Chrono Trigger as an example like so, "Chrono Trigger didn't have random encounters in 1995, so there's no reason (insert game here) should now". The original Hyperdimension Neptunia was pretty awful, though I'm kind of glad I didn't play it first, as it might have killed my interest in the series. 

 

Maybe we'll get the PC port of Chrono Trigger (which is a port of the mobile version) on consoles. The PC version came out of nowhere, and was really half-assed. It was a shitty cash grab, at best. Thankfully they actually listened to the overwhelming negative reception and fixed it (as far as I know).

 

Ocarina of Time is a great game, but far from the best, imo. You can save anywhere, but loading puts you somewhere else, I think. It's been quite a while since I last played it.

 

On 10/22/2018 at 6:30 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

I think my only "wish list" item is the ability to review past dialog. Every once in a while I'll miss something because I mis-time Circle and miss the end of a dialog box.

 

Then you'll be happy to know that this was added in later games. It may have started with Sen I, but I can't remember. I know for certain that you can do that it Sen III and IV, though. Just by pressing up on the d-pad, past dialogue can be seen, whether you're in the middle of a scene or not.

 

On 10/22/2018 at 6:30 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

Exactly. The only no-brainer choice for me is Olivier with his mastery of arts and huge mana pool. After that, it's a bit of a toss up. I usually take a few seconds to eliminate people I don't find that good (e.g. Agate with his poor arts lines), and then just add whoever is left. But even then, it's not like I would fail by using those characters - they all are pretty competent in battle. It's a credit to the series that the characters are so interesting that it is hard to pick a party. I guess I should be glad a certain ranged character isn't a permanent party member, or I would have yet ANOTHER character to choose from.

 

Olivier is one of the best when it comes to arts; very few characters have one line (in the entire series). Though I must admit that I often pick characters based on how much I like them, rather than their combat ability. But like you said, they're all pretty competent in battle — as long as your party is balanced you can't really go wrong with any of them. If by "a certain ranged character" you mean who I think you mean, then that might change later... maybe. 

 

On 10/22/2018 at 6:30 AM, MosesRockefeller said:

I can't remember if it was the final boss or a near-final boss in FC, but I seem to remember a boss where one half was susceptible to physical attacks, and one half was susceptible to arts. That was an interesting fight.

 

That's right, I almost forgot about that. That's the second form of the final boss, or maybe it was both forms.

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16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Dual audio is great, as no one can really complain then. But of course, someone will find something to complain about, because it's the internet...

Exactly!

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

I did something similar when I played FC and SC Evo on Vita. The PS TV is a great device; I'm not sure why it failed so miserably. It seemed to solve the number one complaint about handhelds I see online: not wanting to play games on a small screen. I guess it must have been that there was seemingly no marketing for it, and a general lack of interest in the Vita itself.

I got a PS TV years ago, but I haven't used it much. I really like portable gaming though. I actually never thought of installing Trails SC on the PS TV and playing it on the big screen. Sure it'll be horribly pixelated but I don't mind mediocre graphics. Anyway, I think the PS TV failed for similar reasons as the Vita, except it was probably even more doomed (also the fact that it supported fewer games than the Vita, even ones that did not use the touchpads, didn't help).

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

More games really should have that. I often get stuck talking to NPCs because I accidentally hit X, A, O, etc. one too many times. I can't stand random encounters, either. They are a relic of the past that should've been eradicated long ago. I often use Chrono Trigger as an example like so, "Chrono Trigger didn't have random encounters in 1995, so there's no reason (insert game here) should now". The original Hyperdimension Neptunia was pretty awful, though I'm kind of glad I didn't play it first, as it might have killed my interest in the series. 

I do the same thing all the time in Trails in the Sky, especially since I always talk to NPCs at least twice to hear the usual second set of dialog.

 

I didn't mind Hyperdimension Neptunia 1 too much except for the random encounters. But if you ask me, the biggest improvement the series made was adding animation skipping in VII.

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Ocarina of Time is a great game, but far from the best, imo. You can save anywhere, but loading puts you somewhere else, I think. It's been quite a while since I last played it.

Yeah, loading pops you back to your house, no matter where you saved. I think you can also save at the beginning of dungeons, but I felt like I was losing progress and could not play in short sessions. That was a deal-breaker for me.

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Then you'll be happy to know that this was added in later games. It may have started with Sen I, but I can't remember. I know for certain that you can do that it Sen III and IV, though. Just by pressing up on the d-pad, past dialogue can be seen, whether you're in the middle of a scene or not.

That's cool. I've gotten used to that feature in other RPGs.

 

16 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

Olivier is one of the best when it comes to arts; very few characters have one line (in the entire series). Though I must admit that I often pick characters based on how much I like them, rather than their combat ability. But like you said, they're all pretty competent in battle — as long as your party is balanced you can't really go wrong with any of them. If by "a certain ranged character" you mean who I think you mean, then that might change later... maybe.

I was talking about someone who keeps popping up in the story and was a temporary party member early in the story. I wouldn't be surprised to see that person become full-time later on.

 

And yeah, Olivier is a beast. He's also one of the funniest characters, so that's a nice bonus. :)

 

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7 hours ago, MosesRockefeller said:

I was talking about someone who keeps popping up in the story and was a temporary party member early in the story. I wouldn't be surprised to see that person become full-time later on.

 

I guess it's fairly obvious, but I was just being vague for the sake of not spoiling anything. That character has best defensive s-craft in the game, maybe even in the whole series. It is incredibly useful against a certain boss later on.

 

7 hours ago, MosesRockefeller said:

And yeah, Olivier is a beast. He's also one of the funniest characters, so that's a nice bonus. :)

 

Olivier is one of my favorite characters, so he was often in my party. I've kept my profile banner the same since I played SC Evo, since it coincidentally has most of my favorite characters in it (Renne, Estelle, Tita, Olivier, Loewe). 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just finished Chapter 5, and talk about epic! Dang.

 

On 10/24/2018 at 4:37 PM, Cave_Johnson_ said:

I guess it's fairly obvious, but I was just being vague for the sake of not spoiling anything. That character has best defensive s-craft in the game, maybe even in the whole series. It is incredibly useful against a certain boss later on.

I hate spoilers of any kind, so I appreciate you being vague. That's why I was doing the same.

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On 11/5/2018 at 1:24 PM, MosesRockefeller said:

I just finished Chapter 5, and talk about epic! Dang.

 

Indeed it is. Chapter 6 is even better and is probably my favorite one (aside from the final chapter).

 

On 11/5/2018 at 1:24 PM, MosesRockefeller said:

I hate spoilers of any kind, so I appreciate you being vague. That's why I was doing the same.

 

I hate spoilers too, so I'd hate to ruin it for someone else. I completely left Twitter for almost a month to avoid Sen IV spoilers. It's hard to talk about almost anything in that game without it being a spoiler. Hell, even the cover has spoilers on it.

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10 hours ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

I hate spoilers too, so I'd hate to ruin it for someone else. I completely left Twitter for almost a month to avoid Sen IV spoilers. It's hard to talk about almost anything in that game without it being a spoiler. Hell, even the cover has spoilers on it.

Thankfully I don't participate in social media at all, so I don't have to worry about spoilers there. I usually get spoiled in news feeds and stuff like that.

 

Also, I have a question for you, if you played Trails in the Sky the 3rd on PC. Do you know if the controller support is good? I want to play it on my couch. I have a Xbox One controller, Dual Shock 4, Wii U Pro Controller, and Switch Pro Controller that are all wireless. Hopefully one of them can be used without needing a dongle.

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4 hours ago, MosesRockefeller said:

Also, I have a question for you, if you played Trails in the Sky the 3rd on PC. Do you know if the controller support is good? I want to play it on my couch. I have a Xbox One controller, Dual Shock 4, Wii U Pro Controller, and Switch Pro Controller that are all wireless. Hopefully one of them can be used without needing a dongle.

 

I first played FC, SC and the 3rd all on PC. The controller support is good, but getting (most) controllers to work on PC always comes with a number of problems. If you want to use any of those controllers wirelessly, you'll need a wireless adapter (most likely). If your PC has Bluetooth built-in, you may be able to use the Wii U Pro controller.

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53 minutes ago, Cave_Johnson_ said:

 

I first played FC, SC and the 3rd all on PC. The controller support is good, but getting (most) controllers to work on PC always comes with a number of problems. If you want to use any of those controllers wirelessly, you'll need a wireless adapter (most likely). If your PC has Bluetooth built-in, you may be able to use the Wii U Pro controller.

Yeah, from what I read the Xbox One controller has a newer revision (introduced with the One S console) that has Bluetooth, but I think mine is a prior version. It sounds like the Wii U and Switch Pro controllers can connect without a special adapter.

 

But the Dual Shock 4 has Bluetooth built-in, so why can't it just work out of the box? Sony has to make things difficult. I think I actually have the Dual Shock 4 PC dongle somewhere, but I'd rather not use it since I'll most likely use a Surface to play this (which has one USB port).

Edited by MosesRockefeller
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So I have to modify my previous comment about the Dual Shock 4. I tested it on my Surface Pro 3, and it actually connects via Bluetooth out of the box. I actually found my official PC Dual Shock 4 USB stick, but it's not needed. With Bluetooth it was recognized by Steam. So that will be convenient, since I'll be able to keep the Playstation control layout I'm accustomed to from FC and SC.

 

Spoiler

Also, I just started Chapter 6, and I was disappointed that Olivier left. Boo!

 

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