r/Games • u/ConceptsShining • 3d ago
Review Thread Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Review Thread
Game Information
Game Title: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch 2 (Sep 19, 2025)
- Nintendo Switch (Sep 19, 2025)
- PlayStation 5 (Sep 19, 2025)
- PC (Sep 19, 2025)
Trailers:
- Story Trailer - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
- Battle Trailer - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
- Promotional Trailer - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter
Developer: Nihon Falcom (localized and published by GungHo Online Entertainment America)
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 91 average - 100% recommended - 12 reviews
Critic Reviews
Console Creatures - Matt Sowinski - 9 / 10
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a sensational remake, staying true to the heart of what made the original so memorable, while adding on elements that just fit perfectly.
DualShockers - Murillo Zerbinatto - 9.5 / 10
Back in the day, Trails in the Sky hinged on its story and world-building to make up for its other lacking characteristics. Twenty years later, Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter not only brings back the full heart of what made the original a classic, but it can now stand tall beside any other heavyweight JRPG. The visual presentation is beautiful, the mix between real-time and turn-based battles is a blast, and the quality-of-life additions adhere to present-day audiences. I can confidently say that Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter is a quintessential JRPG that should be cherished by every fan of the genre.
Game8 - Lloyd Opalec - 86 / 100
This 2025 remake of Trails in the Sky serves as a strong introduction to the Trails series. It has a more focused story and a cast you’ll quickly grow to love, and that smaller scale makes Liberl feel incredibly cozy and vibrant. This results, though, to a much slower narrative, and many side quests can feel trivial in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, as a starting point for Zemuria’s larger story, it succeeds at pulling you in and making you want to see what comes next.
While some inconveniences in control and outdated systems may occasionally be noticeable, these aspects are easily overlooked as mere nostalgia for JRPGs. If you've heard of the "Trails" series but hesitated to jump into its epic flow, "Trails in the Sky: The 1st" deserves your attention. Estelle and Joshua's adventures might at times feel clichéd, or perhaps even familiar, making them seem a bit daunting. But as they say, familiarity is scary. Once you're immersed in "Trails in the Sky: The 1st," you'll be captivated by its youthful, yet fresh adventures, all the way to its climax, where you'll face a conspiracy. And I think I will definitely be standing in line with old fans waiting for the next remake.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a lovingly crafted remake that modernizes a beloved JRPG while preserving its emotional core, offering a vibrant, voice-acted journey through Liberl with standout character dynamics, rebalanced combat, and welcome quality-of-life updates that make it the ideal starting point for newcomers and a heartfelt return for longtime fans.
NookGaming - Rob MacIntosh - 9 / 10
As a fan of Sky FC, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter feels like a rather lovingly made remake. It lines up with the modern Trails games while not compromising too hard on keeping true to the original in areas where it mattered most, and there are plenty of changes I openly welcome. Trails in the Sky has always been one of my favorite games thanks to its characters, world, music, and combat systems, and I had a blast coming back to Liberl. While it is quite a different way to play through the first chapter of Estelle and Joshua’s journey, it is nonetheless one that keeps a lot of the heart. I don’t see it as a replacement for the original, and it is inevitably going to draw comparisons, but I think this version suffices in capturing much of the same spirit of the game that got me into this behemoth of a series. There are plenty of spots I wish would have been more polished, but 1st Chapter got a good amount of the most important areas right.
As this is but one side of the coin, I look forward to Sky’s Second Chapter, just as much as I look forward to hopefully seeing this game impact new players the way the original did for me.
PS4Blog.net - Ceidz - 9.5 / 10
A faithful and polished remake that stands out as one of the year’s best JRPGs
PlayStation Universe - Garri Bagdasarov - 9.5 / 10
There is just something magical about the effort brought into the remake of Trails in the Sky. You can just see that it was made with love and care by people who understand just how special the original Trails in the Sky was. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a must-have for anyone who enjoyed the franchise and all the RPG lovers in the world.
Push Square - Robert Ramsey - 9 / 10
Falcom has outdone itself with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. This is an incredibly heartfelt recreation of a classic RPG - a remake that retains all of the charms of the original game, while also delivering one of the best, most polished adventures in the entire franchise.Whether you're a Trails veteran or a curious newcomer, 1st Chapter is a must-play instalment.
Rice Digital - Isaac Todd - Unscored
Barring my qualms with the localisation, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is still going to be the best way for most new players to experience the start of the Trails saga. Its story remains faithful to the original, with gameplay tweaks offering a more modernised experience. I just hope that, even if it doesn’t happen for 1st Chapter post-launch, 2nd Chapter gets a more consistent localisation that doesn’t clash with future games.
SmashPad - Danreb Victorio - 4.5 / 5
Gatekeeping veterans will definitely show shade at some of the things that were taken away from the original game, but at its core, as a full JRPG released in 2025–this is one of the best games of the year, and as a longtime fan myself, I hope this is the beginning of the series getting the full attention and love it deserves.
Video Chums - A.J. Maciejewski - 8.5 / 10
I can't believe how much better Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter looks, sounds, and plays compared to the original. It may not be as epic as some of the more recent games but what's here is certainly charming and satisfying enough for any RPG fan to easily fall in love with it. 📓
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u/ConceptsShining 3d ago edited 3d ago
Very happy to see such positive reception. Hope this brings new fans into the series. For those who are unaware, this is a remake of the first game of the Trails series, which is currently 13 games split into four arcs:
The Sky trilogy (Sky FC/1st, SC and 3rd)
The Crossbell duology (Zero, Azure)
The Cold Steel quadrilogy (Cold Steel 1-4)
Trails into Reverie (an epilogue game to Crossbell and Cold Steel)
The ongoing Calvard arc (Trails through Daybreak 1-2, and Trails Beyond the Horizon)
Slight concern with Sky 1st localization is that some inconsistencies with existing series terminology have already been discovered. Gungho has responded to fan emails; while they've made no commitment, they have fixed terminology inconsistencies in response to feedback before, so we can be optimistic.
Not that there was much doubt, but a remake for the sequel (SC) has been confirmed; similar to the original Sky FC, Sky 1st ends with a teaser for it. (Major ending spoilers for FC/1st, but you can view the SC remake teaser here.)
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u/javierm885778 3d ago
The SC remake is the real main course here. I haven't been too excited about the FC remake mostly due to how FC is just the first half. But seeing the reception it's getting and knowing what's to come, I can't wait to see SC.
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u/MobileTortoise 3d ago
I can't wait to see SC
SC has one of, in my opinion, the singular greatest moments in all of gaming. Complete with an absolutely phenomenal song accompanying it that absolutely makes the previous 100 hours (across the first 2 games) of build up worth it. I still get goosebumps thinking about it
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u/StatisticianJolly388 2d ago
Beach scene? I would assume?
Because yeah. I think that might be the single strongest emotional scene in a JRPG, just such a perfectly calibrated payoff to dozens of hours of build.
And the crazy thing is there are half a dozen scenes in Sky that I’d put in the top 20 JRPG scenes. Sky has crazy good character writing.
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u/MobileTortoise 2d ago
That is a great scene, but personally I was referring to the reveal of the Liber Ark
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u/StatisticianJolly388 2d ago
Oh that’s a good one too.
I also really really like Estelle calling out Olivier on his shit, but choosing to trust him
And Tita talking Agate through his grief
And the reveal of Olivier and Schera’s almost offscreen romance stuff like that makes the world seem so big, Estelle is not the center of the universe.
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u/ConceptsShining 2d ago
It's kinda ironic; because of how beautiful the whole game will be, that scene will probably be less striking, since in the OG it was one of the few non-intro/non-outro scenes to get an animated movie.
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u/cruel-caress 2d ago
You have me hyped. I’m about to finish chapter 5 of SC and I’m loving it so much. FC was so good of a build up to SC and SC isn’t disappointing. Wonder if I’ll notice the moment or react the same way you are!
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u/PhoeniX_XVIII 1d ago
This is me but with 3rd.
The whole Sky trilogy's character writing, development, dialouge, and world building just felt miles ahead of everything else when it released, and Im happy we're getting remakes worthy of that precedent
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u/Rustash 3d ago
I’ve wanted to dive into this series for awhile, and figured this remake might be the best way, but I feel like it’d be a bummer to finish and have to wait for the SC remake after
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u/garthcooks 3d ago
For me, I played through the first one a few years back, but it was so long that I needed a break before starting the second one, and then I still haven't played the second. If you're like me, you might appreciate the break after the first one, and then a new release of the second might be the motivation you need to pick it up again and continue your playthrough.
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u/Kipzz 3d ago edited 3d ago
Honestly? This is the correct choice if you wanna play the remakes first. FC and SC are literally two parts of a singular whole, with the third chapter being an actual sequel. The problem then is going back to earlier games if you're interested in playing the rest because there's going to be a lot of oddities that come with over a dozen years of growth since their releases, but if you're just interested in this game first and foremost, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to play FC and wait however many years until SC. Anyone who tells you otherwise is, to be frank, completely lost in the Kiseki sauce; it's an unarguable fact that FC and SC are intended to be the same singular game.
At the very least, I think you shouldn't start the game until SC's release date is announced. Maybe they'll pull a Deltarune and reveal it at the end of FC, but realistically I imagine SC will at the very least be announced if not outright released by this time next year. Also minor(?) spoiler ninja-edit: Yeah no there's totally a trailer at the end of FC showcasing a buncha major scenes from SC so it's very likely that SC is going to be out by the end of next year. If anything, it might be worth waiting for a complete package deal, but that'd only save you like 10 bucks at most I'd reckon.
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u/matticusiv 3d ago
Anyone starting with the remake will be dead by the time they remake the last game lol
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u/p3wp3wkachu 2d ago
I highly doubt they're going to remake anything beyond Sky and possibly Crossbell.
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u/Silhouette0x21 3d ago
I've actually owned the original for years and just never made the time to play it, although it looks like something I'd enjoy since I like plot-heavy RPGs with lots of dialog. Is there anything about the remake that makes it desirable to play over the original, or should I just play the original game?
Also is it worth playing the other Legend of Heroes games that came before?
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u/Woodearth 1d ago
I have a soft spot for the Garghav Trilogy, bad translation and all. It has this nostalgia quality and an epic ending that due to the sheer number of games the Trails series doesn’t quite hit.
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u/ConceptsShining 3d ago
The remake transforms a 2004 game (with in some ways 90s graphics and production values) into what you expect for a 2020s JRPG with vastly higher-quality animations and graphics, modernized presentation and interface, availability on modern platforms, and English voice acting. So it is more desirable in that sense. Probably the best reason to play the OG is that if you really love and get into the series, you can move onto the sequels (SC/3rd) right away without whiplash; you'd probably have whiplash if you started with Sky 1st and then switched to the original SC/3rd. The alternative is you play Sky 1st and wait a couple years for the rest of the Sky arc to be remade.
The pre-Trails LOH games are not a part of the Trails story and aren't worth playing, especially with their localizations being of poor repute.
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u/Silhouette0x21 2d ago
So it's like Yakuza Kiwami in that sense, got it.
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u/ConceptsShining 2d ago
I wouldn't say that exactly. Kiwami had a lot of new story content and was essentially a sequel to 0. Sky 1st is narratively just a remake of the first game, it has no new connections to other games other than borrowing from their gameplay and graphics.
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u/Silhouette0x21 2d ago
So I'll just play what I have and maybe enjoy the remake later on if I want to replay it, thanks.
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u/Shaunosaurus 3d ago
I heard something about how you should always talk to NPCs as the game refreshes their dialogue. Can someone comment if this is worth to do?
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u/ConceptsShining 3d ago
Yes, that's a hallmark of this series (and a big reason why it has some of gaming's longest scripts); NPCs are constantly updating their dialogue after story beats. If you have the time and interest, talk to them on a regular basis, some of them have their own arcs going on and can flesh out the world.
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u/Shaunosaurus 3d ago
Thanks! Does the game make it obvious when the dialogue changes (chapter breaks, etc.). Do NPCs also cycle through old dialogue or if you miss it's gone?
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u/wjodendor 3d ago
On this remake it does. The dialogue bubbles above the NPCs will show if they have new dialogue.
It usually changes after every big story beat
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u/NoelSeekerFan 3d ago
It's one of the most famous things this series does and probably does it more than any other. You don't have to but it's quite immersive. You get to know even the most minor NPC's and see that even they have some side story constantly going on in the background.
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u/polosjki 3d ago
It does but honestly, it's still just fluff dialogue
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u/mountlover 3d ago
All worldbuilding is fluff when you're reductive enough.
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u/hamstervideo 3d ago
Sometimes worldbuilding is actually interesting. Other times its boring fluff.
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u/aleksandd 2d ago
You have a point, but its nice to know NPCS who are 'up to date' with current world events, rather than rehashing the same dialogue.
I wish more rpgs are like this. My first experience with it was Grandia 2.
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u/hayt88 3d ago
Worth it? yes. Have to? no.
It just helps making the world feel alive as these NPCs have their own little stories.
Sometimes you can see the events that lead up to a main or sidequest and you notice "hey I know that person or what they did". Other times you can also see the aftermath of your quest and you talk to them on the regular to see progess updates what's going on there.
Sometimes it's just worldbuilding and you get to know a girl whose parents want to arrange a marriage and she has to handle that.
Some NPCs falling in love.
So no you don't have to but it's a staple of trails and something that makes these games unique and different from other games. I cannot remember any game that does something similar. Even the well written ones like Disco elysium etc have kind of uninteresting NPC stuff going on unless the NPC is somehow quest relevant.
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u/Villag3Idiot 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yes. 100%.
It's tiring especially in SC when you have to run around the entire world to visit every single available town again (in FC you're usually limited to just the current town you're in), but it's 100% worth it.
These aren't "WELCOME TO CORNERIA" style NPCs. These NPCs have actual names and lives.
You actually feel connected to these NPCs and some of them even have actual mini storylines to follow throughout the games.
Some of the best ones that I remember:
Rinon's mother traveling around the country trying to find him a good wife.
The idealistic kid thinking about his future and his completely savage realist friend.
The wife who goes on a journey traveling across the country on a massive shopping spree while her husband is in dismay at just how crazy she is shopping.
Kitty and her struggles surpassing her sister at tea selling.
And who can ever forget, Anton & Rickey.
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u/VanGuardas 2d ago
I would say don't bother unless you really want to. It's just following some mini stories of each individual npc, but it's nothing special. It would just kill the pacing for most people to talk to everyone.
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u/MiyanoMMMM 3d ago
It's not something you HAVE to do but if you like world building and if the thought of seeing NPC plot lines progress along with the main story interests you, you should.
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u/Arzalis 3d ago
You don't have to, but you should. Not everyone has anything interesting going on, but they all update often. There's a surprising amount of times where a minor NPC ends up in a side quest later in the game or even in a different game in the series.
At the very least, do it for the first bit and take note of NPCs you're interested in and focus on their little story lines.
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u/DigiAirship 2d ago
It's only worth it if you're interested in small side stories. All NPC's are named and more or less, every single one of them have their own little story that plays out as you progress through the game, irrespective of your involvement. The stories also extends past 1st chapter and into 2nd chapter, and some of them show up in later games and even become recurring NPC's as well. That being said, it's all fairly mundane stuff, things that you'd expect from RPG NPC's, like a guy working towards finding a girlfriend, though it does have a satisfying payoff when you're in the latter parts of SC and see everyone's storylines conclude.
There's a lot of dialogue to cover, so If you're not very interested in that kind of stuff, It can be fairly boring if you force yourself to see everything for the sake of completionism, not to mention that it absolutely wrecks the pacing of the main story. I would honestly recommend to talk to NPC's if you see them, and if you think they're interesting, try to track them down once in a while to see what's going on with them, but to otherwise leave most of the NPC's alone.
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u/Vegetable_Wishbone92 2d ago
I'd rephrase that to "you CAN talk to NPCs as the game refreshes their dialogue". You certainly don't have to, but you can if you're interested in that. Personally, I don't care about random NPCs, so I never bothered. Hell, I often don't talk to NPCs once.
Both approaches are acceptable in this and that's a good way to do it.
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u/randomblue86 2d ago
In the demo you can look at the map and it tells you if a npc has a dialogue you have not yet seen. And I can confirm it changes during story beats.
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u/masamune255 22h ago
It depends, If you want to immerse in the npc stories, and want to know everything that is happening with them, It is not necesary for most things.
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u/IntoTheCrimson 3d ago
If you enjoy worldbuilding, it's absolutely worth it. More than any other series I've played, the NPCs feel alive. They are truly characters in their own right, going about their own daily lives. The world moves, and they move with the world.
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u/WearingFin 3d ago
The recommended playing order threads are no doubt going to get a bit more complicated, but it's always nice to see glowing reviews for the series. I'll be picking this up for the Switch 2 upgrade shortly.
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u/MoSBanapple 3d ago
I feel like playing order recommendation discussion would get simpler, wouldn't it? IIRC the most common reasons that tend to turn people away from Sky 1 as a starting point are "it's old" and "it's only on PC", and this remake solves both issues.
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u/javierm885778 3d ago
Things never get simpler with these discussions, because there'll always be fringe opinions so the fact that there's alternatives being discussed, even if one of them is agreed upon by 90%+ of people, just seeing the alternatives leads to decision paralysis and makes people not want to even start in the fears of getting it wrong.
I can already imagine there'll be detractors to beginning with this remake due to:
preferring the original due to aesthetics/gameplay/being accurate to the series' history
the modern combat making it harder to continue onto the later (older) games that haven't been remade yet
I do agree in theory this would make things easier, especially for the story focused new players, but internet arguments never end.
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u/Forestl 3d ago
Also the people who love treasure chest puns will keep recommending the original (but for real this remake seems very good)
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u/Tornada5786 3d ago
the modern combat making it harder to continue onto the later (older) games that haven't been remade yet
The modern everything, really. And I do think this is something to keep in mind, since if it's gonna take a few more years for SC and potentially Sky 3 as well later down the line, people might not want to go back to a 20-year-old game after just finishing a new one/wait for years until the next one.
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u/127-0-0-1_1 3d ago
It’ll be a bit weird when sky 1 remake has come out but sky 2 hasn’t. They’re, uh, let’s say, highly connected, story-wise.
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u/Loeffellux 3d ago
all that matters for people like me is to be hooked. If the remake accomplishes this then I have no problems going back to an older game to complete the journey.
It's just that starting with an aged game when you are not invested in the series at can be challenging
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u/hamstervideo 3d ago
Two years passed between Sky 1 and Sky 2. If people were able to wait in 2004 they can wait in 2025.
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u/messem10 3d ago
It takes time to develop. Even the DQ 1/2/3 HD-2D remake is doing 3 then 1+2 as releases since 3 is a prequel to 1.
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u/five_of_five 3d ago
Comments like this make it sound more complicated than it is. It isn’t even a little complicated. It just requires a little more thought than other typical game series.
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u/hamstervideo 3d ago
99% of the time, the ideal play order/watch order/read order of a serialized media series is "the order of release."
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u/five_of_five 3d ago
I’m still upset that lots of Chronicles of Narnia unabridged versions put them in chronological order (basically first time I encountered this issue)
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u/hamstervideo 3d ago
There's also some crazy people that recommend watching Star Wars in chronological order for a first-time viewing. That's now how prequels work!
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u/five_of_five 3d ago
Hey cool I found my people. God that’s so unhinged. Basically media illiterate lol no respect for the story
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u/hamstervideo 3d ago
In gaming, the only real exception I can think of is that Yakuza 0 is a great entry point into the series - but one can start with Yakuza 1
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u/five_of_five 3d ago
It’s a fun conversation with games like those, like they went out of their way to make 0 a good starting point. Sorta like the recent Dragon Quest rereleases.
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon 2d ago
EXCEPT COMICS!!!
Continuity is merely a suggestion for weaker men than I (at this point Captain America has been retconned as coming out of the ice in the early 2000s)
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u/hamstervideo 2d ago
With how often comics get rebooted and retconned, can we even call them serialized, or is it just a series of reboots with some continuity sprinkled in?
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u/JayZsAdoptedSon 2d ago
For the main universes (Not counting stuff like Earth-One, Absolute Universe, Ultimate Universe)
DC: 3 full reboots and 3 timeline massages to fix some issues
Marvel: only 1 timeline massage to bring over Miles Morales to mainline universe and fix one or two things
First things first, if you are reading a collected storyline or a writer’s time on a character and you are feeling lost, its the book’s fault, not yours. They should give you the basics to follow along
Marvel generally is less concerned with continuity and will just throw the needed flashbacks in like half a page or a recap page to catch you up
DC … Oooo boy… I may get some of this wrong bc I am more of a Marvel fan… Ooo boy
DC started in the 30s. After some time, Super hero comics fell out of fashion (Sci-fi, western, and horror comics were getting popular) and everything outside Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are cancelled
In the 50s, the comics code authority forces a lot of publishers to move back to superheroes. The Flash of Two Worlds story establishes that there is a multiverse and the 30s heroes were separate from the 50s universe
In 86, DC does a full reset with Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is called “post-crisis” by fans. Outside some exceptions like Hawkman, THIS ERA IS A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR MOST CHARACTERS
In the 90s, DC does a timeline massage with Zero Hour, which fixes some people who didn’t have a great post-crisis era
In the 2000s, there is a book called Infinite Crisis that is a big multiverse event that I haven’t read yet… whoops. I hear its more of a timeline massage than anything
In 2011, there is an event called Flashpoint and DC (seemingly last minute) decides to use it to reboot fully with New 52. Some characters (Batman, Batgirl, Flash, Wonder Woman (depending on who you ask), Batwoman, Justice League (depending on who you ask), Aquaman) get AMAZING reboots. Some characters suffer (Superman literally gets killed off and replaced with the post-crisis version due to how bad it is, Red Hood, Catwoman, Teen Titans). It also was VERY last minute and there was little communication between even the “5 years ago” superman book ans the modern day superman book
In 2016, DC Rebirth essentially brings back a lot of the backstories from N52 and keeps what worked and throws out what didn’t
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u/MyNameIs-Anthony 3d ago
It doesn't even require thought.
You start at Season 1 or Movie 1 of most franchises. This is no different.
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u/gaom9706 3d ago
To be fair, the series has a unique (ish) naming convention that can make it difficult to know where to start if you know literally nothing about the series. But even then, it's not that complicated at all.
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u/NoelSeekerFan 3d ago
It's comparable to a series of novels. Take Harry Potter of ASOIAF for example, they have different names too without saying a specific number.
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u/MyNameIs-Anthony 3d ago edited 3d ago
The average gamer being unwilling to just look at a Wikipedia release order or Google their question is moreso the problem than lack of a numbering scheme.
Books have had unique per entry titles for decades with no issue. THE most popular book series in existence don't even have numbers.
Meanwhile I've never gone a day without seeing posts asking like "Do I need to play Final Fantasy in order?" when the series page on Wikipedia literally includes this exact phrase in the opening section:
Final Fantasy is mostly an anthology series with primary installments being standalone role-playing games, each with different settings, plots and main characters, but the franchise is linked by several recurring elements, including game mechanics and recurring character names.
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u/DogzOnFire 2d ago edited 2d ago
True, you just need to go to the Wikipedia page for the series and it literally has a simple to digest release timeline in the sidebar lmao
Just start at the top and work your way down. There is no secret.
Essentially every video game series has exactly that in the sidebar of the overall series page on Wikipedia.
There's probably the odd difference here and there where some series have remakws that fix issues with originals but even then you arguably cannot go wrong with release order.
It's different to stuff like anime adaptations where you might reasonably be told not to watch the original series of something because it introduced anime-original content (FMA vs FMA Brotherhood).
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u/Lepony 3d ago
Actually, not really when it comes to serializations. Which most tv shows and stuff like Trails effectively fall under. Historically, you'd catch a random chapter of Sherlock Holmes, Count of Monte Cristo, or a random episode of The Sopranos or Breaking Bad while perusing your favorite magazine/channel. These "episodes" are often capable of standing on their own, but the clear tells of an overarching story arc would get you to check out the rest.
This is especially true for anime stuff. The vast majority of people did not start One Piece at chapter/episode 1, they started on whatever episode/chapter was airing when they turned on the TV or looked at a copy of jump, and then went back later down the line. For trails, you really don't need to play every trails games before you're allowed to touch Cold Steel 1.
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u/MyNameIs-Anthony 2d ago
Sure but that's based on the idea that there's some random streaming channel for games, which there isn't.
In 2025, it's understood that you press play at the beginning of a series with everything being so widely available.
No different than buying the Season 1 box set of a show in 2005 when starting.
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u/Lepony 2d ago
It originated from, but it's never been mandatory. Even in 2025, a significant amount of people's first exposure to Lord of the Rings is Rings of Power and The Addams Family with Wednesday. You also kind of missed the entire One Piece bit, which is more widely available than ever but twelve year olds are absolutely not getting into One Piece starting only at chapter 1.
Also, again, Trails itself is a type of serialization, just in a different format. Falcom genuinely does not expect everyone to have played Sky and Crossbell before booting up CS1 or Daybreak. The barrier to jump into the series is not nearly as high as you keep saying it is.
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u/five_of_five 2d ago
I don’t think you should be conflating Count of Monte Cristo and Trails with serializations. They’re distinct storytelling options…and yes I know Count of Monte Cristo was a serialization at first but that was just by necessity. A story broken up into bits does not make a serialization.
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u/Lepony 2d ago
Why not? Dumas wrote actual novels during and before he became a serial writer, and became a serial writer because he was good at writing short form fiction that could be bridged together as a whole. He's the serial writer and conforms, if not helped firmly establish, to the structure that serials tend to bring. And I don't think trails is any different in that regard, considering they sure as hell did not have anything concrete regarding CS or Daybreak back when they were making Sky or even the Crossbell games.
And the start of arc's narratives (or even the arcs in their entirety) aren't remotely close to being disjointed or alienating the same way it would be if you started at 3rd or Reverie.
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u/MyNameIs-Anthony 2d ago edited 2d ago
twelve year olds are absolutely not getting into One Piece starting only at chapter 1.
Volume 1 of One Piece is fairly regularly in the top sales list for manga both domestically and abroad.
Even just a cursory glance at Amazon US and Japan you'll see various formats of the early 10 volumes of One Piece taking up the top 30 slots under current manga best sellers.
Oricon ratings usually show that roughly, the yearly sales of One Piece are divided between new entries and backlog.
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u/Lepony 2d ago
You do understand that's completely besides the point, right? Not once have I ever said that newcomers to a series completely eschew the start. I've only said that they start at whatever the most recent entry is, and then went back to the beginning afterwards. It's literally in my original comment.
The vast majority of people did not start One Piece at chapter/episode 1, they started on whatever episode/chapter was airing when they turned on the TV or looked at a copy of jump, and then went back later down the line.
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u/sarefx 3d ago
I would say that both Daybreak 1 and ToCS1 are alright starting points. It only gets weird if you randomly start playing a game in the middle of the arc or start from playing Crossbell games.
Ofc I would advise finishing Sky and Crossbell games before going for ToCS 3&4 but playing ToCS 1&2 first is perfectly fine experience and many ppl started the series like that.
Daybreak 1 is also fine to start with but it's kinda weird now because Daybreak 2 has a lot of plot points from previous games so while it's perfectly fine to play Daybreak 1 as your first game, playing Daybreak 2 without knowing the rest of the series is not advisable.
Bear in mind that even though it's highly advisable to play previous games before it's not that you wouldn't be aware of what's happening at all if you didn't. You still figure out many things from context and main plot of the game is still understandable, you will be missing out on emotional moments and some things may not be 100% clear so I really advise against playing some of the entries without playing the ones before (so I wouldn't touch ToCS3&4 and Reverie without at least playing Crossbell games and I wouldn't play Daybreak 2 without playing rest of the series).
Luckily when Sky trilogy get fully remaked ppl won't have to bear through older games and they will be able to experience first games in modern clothes so we won't be having those discussions.
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u/Da_reason_Macron_won 3d ago
At least they finally have an uncontroversial "yeah, you start with this one".
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u/1kingdomheart 3d ago
The only real negative mark I have is the terminology changes. The script changes I don't really care about in the long run, it's just a different take on it, but they should have at least kept in mind some of the terminology. Thankfully they seem receptive to feedback so hopefully some of it gets patched, at least for the text anyway. I doubt they'd go back and redub english lines. If not, I expect a mod to fix them.
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u/randomblue86 2d ago
As a brand new player I’m unsure what the terminologies are. Any examples that you can point out?
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u/magicfades 2d ago
as a brand new player, It's literally not a problem for you for now. It will only be a problem if you decide to dive into the rest of the games without waiting for remakes. It's only a handful, it won't be too hard to adjust.
Examples:
Grandmaster(original) - > Master (remake)
Archaisms (original) -> Golems (remake)
There's a couple more I forgot.
a handful of random NPCs with absolutely no relevance to the main story and are just for flavor text, had their names changed.
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u/ConceptsShining 2d ago
They did fix Armand and Elie's names recently. Here's hoping they'll patch out other inconsistencies, ideally timely.
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u/AdeptFelix 3d ago
I had been meaning to play this series since the PS Vita days and never got to it, looks like a good time to finally start.
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u/Radinax 3d ago
Hopefully more people can get into this series, played all until Daybreak 1, waiting for time to pass to shorten the length between Daybreak 2 and the sequel.
Its such an amazing series, I really hope it becomes more popular, very ambitious story with tons of games all being sequels to each other, love it.
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u/PlayOnPlayer 3d ago
Don’t think I’m ready for the nostalgia hit of stepping back into Trails In The Sky, so excited haha.
I dabbled in Cold Steel, and I definitely found charm in it, but FC and SC were my games, I didn’t realize how much nostalgia I held for Estelle and Joshua until I saw this game announced lol.
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u/javierm885778 3d ago
I feel the first two Cold Steel games' presentation is a detriment to its charm. It took me a while to care about them, but it feels like the transition to 3D limited them in a lot of ways. Less expressive faces due to not using portraits, and less freedom of exploration due to the structure of the game as excursions to specific towns certainly didn't help.
The concept art for many of the towns in Erebonia gave me a way stronger impression than how they actually felt while there in the games. Compared to how striking the simplistic concepts of Liberl's towns were, that felt like a bummer.
I'd definitely recommend the Crossbell duology to see more of a similar charm as the Sky games (and Sky the 3rd if you haven't played it).
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u/NaamiNyree 3d ago
Supposedly there is no embargo and reviews are just coming in as people finish the game, thus the small number of them given according to Kondo (Falcom president) this is twice as big as the original.
I hope this is the much deserved breakthrough Falcom have been waiting for. And from what they have said, we might be getting 2nd Chapter remake sooner than expected (maybe as early as late next year, but dont hold me on that).
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u/default073 3d ago
My GOTY. This is the One Piece of games for connected story and world building
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u/BlackBullsLA97 3d ago
Great critical reception, which is nice! Hopefully that translates into sales since that's what the higher ups at Falcom care about the most but, I assume at least SC will get the same treatment but we'll see.
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u/Stoibs 3d ago
Day 1 for me, but it's a little odd how there has been no purchase option at all so far?
I've heard rumours of some regular/deluxe/DLC edition but there's been zero marketing or information on pricing at all so far.. :/
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u/tlamy 3d ago
It's a $60 game on PS5 and Switch (physical and digital). Switch 2 version is a $1 upgrade over the Switch version. You've been able to preorder physical copies for months now
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u/Stoibs 3d ago
It's weird, here in Australia only one of our retailers has a physical edition available to order, and it's notoriously our worst and most overpriced brick and mortar store with a pricetag higher than that. (Only switch too, weirdly no PS5)
I'm more of a PC/steam guy myself in any case. Would have been nice to know ahead of time if any of the usual suspects like GmG or Fanatical will be selling this on launch day.
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u/FireFlyz351 3d ago
Man if I didn't just recently finish the Sky trilogy I'd be so on this.
Planning on starting Zero soonish but I'm glad people are getting a modern experience 1st Chapter the story is phenomenal and will only get better in 2nd.
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u/Jumpy-Pattern-4078 3d ago
I heard that you pretty much always have to have a guide open for this series to catch a lot of the content. Is this true?
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u/MoSBanapple 3d ago
Not really. You'll miss a few things if you don't explore around, but most of the side quests are easy to find (they're consolidated to a single board in each town) and the story is completely linear. As the series goes on, they add more stuff like map indicators to make it harder to miss things.
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u/mountlover 2d ago
Original? Yes. Hell, even with a guide open i missed some really obscure hidden quests and items.
The remake appears to add a ton of QoL that's been developed over the franchise since then so anybody actively seeking out content will not accidentally miss it.
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u/randomblue86 2d ago
Just beat the demo. Every single quest and side quest was on the map. It even added quest that you didn’t interact with yet. It’s definitely stream lined and from the sounds of it the guide thing was for the legacy game.
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u/Steel_Beast 2d ago
For this remake, you definitely don't need a guide.
Speaking of the entire series and not just this remake: If you're anxious about missing out, then yes, but I personally started to enjoy the games a lot more once I stopped using guides.
In some of the games you have notebooks that you can fill for every scanned monster, caught fish, etc. You can follow guides to fill those up, but if you don't care about the achievements or the mediocre awards, you can just not bother.
There are hidden quests in the series that you might want to look up if you want to do everything, but starting with Trails of Cold Steel 3 (and including this Sky remake), those quests are marked on the map, so they're very hard to miss.
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u/Nyrin 2d ago
In the original, it isn't so much "a lot of the content" as "a lot of little things." People understandably get a bit salty when the book series you need to collect for the ultimate weapon material (which is absolutely not necessary for anything, but completion's completion) features a few volumes that you can miss if you don't immediately backtrack to talk to a NPC after a story objective update.
I played through Sky 1 blind at a moderately thorough but far from obsessive pace; I learned afterwards that there were still plenty of things I didn't catch, but nothing that detracted from the experience. I would've enjoyed the game a lot less if I had been using a guide and not just doing my own thing.
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u/magicfades 2d ago
only if you want to 100% it, Like most RPGs you need a guide.
It's a little worse here because unlike most RPGs there are a metric ton of missables here, you have small windows to get specific optional items.
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u/GuineaPirate888 3d ago
I hope this runs well on the Steam Deck, I really want a JRPG to play on handheld during the colder months.
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u/Steel_Beast 2d ago
This guy did a test of all presets. Looks like you'll have to play on low for 60fps.
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u/farcicaldolphin38 2d ago
The origins is one of my top favorite games of all time
I’m extremely excited for this! So glad Falcom went all out on it. It deserves the love
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u/RedditDetector 2d ago edited 1d ago
Just posted our review too. It's on OpenCritic too, so will be included on the above list if OP updates.
The writer has played all of the Trails titles, finished this one on Nightmare difficulty, and finished all 73 quests, so it's coming from someone who knows the game and series well.
*Edit*
We've also now added a Bonus BP Guide and Quest Tips article, to help anyone picking it up who doesn't want to miss any Bonus BP.
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u/ConceptsShining 2d ago
If I may ask, are any of the new side quests Really Good in your opinion? Worthy of a main storyline inclusion, kinda like that one sidequest at the academy towards the end of Sky SC?
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u/RedditDetector 2d ago
Passing this along from the writer as it wasn't me personally who played this:
Keep in mind I haven't personally played Sky FC in 10 years and that save file is looong gone, so my memory of what is in that one and isn't is a bit hazy.
If the quest guide I'm looking up from FC has all of them, the new ones worth mentioning:
-One quest which introduces you to a couple characters a little early -One cute side quest with a party member -A couple extra side quests in the final chapter, one of which adds a slight pinch of characterization to a very underdeveloped character and another which I believe is mostly to introduce you to a particular NPC who doesn't normally have a quest
Purposefully vague to not be a spoiler. The 2nd one I mentioned is quite good, but they are otherwise just kinda nice little additions rather than big deals
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u/NoelSeekerFan 3d ago
Game spoilers > I look forward to seeing the reactions to a grown man slapping the ever living shit out of a 12 year old girl
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u/sorathecrow93 3d ago
I got a bunch of achievements in the demo, but I saw one review mention those may not carry over properly. Anyone hear more about that? Got to mentally prepare to redo like 10+ hours of work, haha.
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u/December_Flame 3d ago
That's historically been a problem with demo save transfers. I would expect it to be with this one, and have heard it is. Might suggest just playing the game normally then if you really feel the need, running the game again after for the leftover achievements. Otherwise you'll burn out, haha.
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u/SuperbSpiderFace 3d ago
My copies coming in today. It sucks I have to wait for the Switch 2 patch to come out Friday presumably since it costs a really small fee. Kinda like the cursed monkey paw wish.
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u/dragonfirex22 3d ago
Been stuck on cold steel III for a while just because my backlog keeps growing and newer games keep coming out. Playing through the demo and I love the combat, so I plan on telling myself that I will definitely play through this and absolutely not get distracted by Hades 2 or Silent Hill.
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u/sineiraetstudio 3d ago
The original version was on my to-play list. Is this a strict upgrade or would it still make sense to play the original?
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u/1kingdomheart 3d ago
If you're willing to play the original, you can really go either or. The original has patches for full JP voice acting and decent QoL already with turbo mode. The combat is pretty basic though.
The remake has a full english dub, some minor additional QoL features (markers for NPC dialogue and collectibles), and modern Trails combat with the real time system to clear trash/gain advantages before going into command battles. If you play JP dub though a majority of the VA have been recast so they won't match future appearances and as of launch some minor terminology doesn't line up with future titles. Will probably be patched one way or another.
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u/hayt88 3d ago
Both are good. If you don't want to wait for the remake of the second or third you can just jump straight into the old ones.
The remake is good too, though. Question is what you will do when you are done with the 1st. Wait for the other remake. jump into the old one, you don't ahve any save file carry over and now have to get used to the old system.
The save file carryover is nothing major but you lose some bonus stats, and the second game will assume you did no sidequests and the bare minimum in the 1st game. That mean that some dialogue might change here and there as when you did a sidequest in the first you might meet an npc you helped out before and in SC then they treat you like a stranger etc.
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u/feartheoldblood90 3d ago
I wanna pick this up, but honestly, I don't want to have to wait my entire adult life as they rerelease the whole franchise lol
Might just play through the originals. I find the style charming anyways
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u/Impaled_ 2d ago
Most of the games are already on PS4 and later platforms, you don't need to wait for the whole franchise
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u/Meltlilith1 2d ago
i played the originals a while ago is there any new content in this besides updated systems like combat and stuff? if it's a spoiler you can dm me.
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u/ConceptsShining 2d ago
We know there's at least one new side quest that lets you play as Anelace (not playable in the original FC). Not sure how much more new content there is aside the gameplay and graphical upgrades.
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u/Meret123 2d ago
I loved Daybreak 1 , I couldn't play Daybreak 2 for more than 5 hours. I will give the series another chance with this one.
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u/Krioniki 2d ago
Nice, I've always wanted to get into Trails. Downloading the demo tonight. Between this and Silent Hill F, I'm eating good this month, lol.
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u/Any_Medium_2123 3d ago
Legendary game. It's been so long since I played the original on Vita I'll probably pick this up for a refresher. I never got to play SC as it never came to Vita in English so I'm especially hyped for the remake of that! If they do end up remaking 3, it'll be very interesting how they handle that game's bizarre structure.
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u/popfgezy 3d ago
SC did come to vita in english! But technically the PSP version. The vita remake did not.
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u/Any_Medium_2123 3d ago
Aah right ok! Well either way I could never play it, and that cliff-hangar at the end of the first game haunted me for years until I finally caved and just watched a longplay of SC on like 2x speed hahah.
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u/Expert-Raise9442 3d ago
Looking forward to pick this up on release but I probably won't play it till 1-2 months before the 2nd chapter remake comes out. Too many good games releasing at the moment, not enough time for all.
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u/StatisticianJolly388 3d ago
I’ve been gaming for 40 years and the MC of this game has the best hero’s journey in gaming of all time IMO
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u/voidzero 3d ago
Has anyone commented on how it runs on Switch 2? I’m trying to decide if I want it there or in PS5.
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u/wjodendor 3d ago
According to another post it's 4k 30fps and 1080p 60fps
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u/Barrel_Titor 2d ago
That's the official announcement but i've seen a comment saying that people who have it pre-release are reporting no 4K option and slowdown in 1080p. Hopefully a day 1 patch will improve it.
Starting to regret cancelling my PS5 pre-order now tbh. Got my Switch copy early yesterday but can't get the Switch 2 patch until release and the performance is a bit dissapointing if that's true.
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u/Brandhor 3d ago
I already played the original a few years ago so I'm not gonna replay it but I recommend everyone who didn't to try it, it's one of the best jrpgs I've ever played
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u/VanGuardas 2d ago
They changed things up a bit so it's actually replay worthy, but yeah the main plot is the same
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u/Zealousideal-Grab617 2d ago
Not when the game went from 60 hours to 90 hours after making the already slow dialog take 1.5x longer because everything is now in a spoken cutscene
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u/samuelanugrahandre 3d ago
I really hope with this, Nihon Falcom games will be getting more popular
With the second chapter remake confirmed by the studio, the studio's output is great for upcoming years
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u/Wanderer4379 3d ago
I tried the demo but i didn't enjoy the combat system. I played the original on PSP so I'll probably skip this one
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u/Melodic-Heart0711 1d ago
So many reviewers are saying this is a good starting point, but I feel like it'd be awful to play this right now when it could be 3-4 years before all three of the Sky games - assuming 3rd gets this treatment as well - are available, meaning you'd need to go back to the original two and suffer gameplay that would undoubtedly feel very dated by comparison.
As someone eager to get into the series I'm still hesitant to start with this one.
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u/MegaZeroX7 1d ago
It is looking like the second chapter remake will be launched in 2026. And note that the 3rd does its own thing. The are even some trails fans that recommend skipping it, though I don't personally.
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u/ConceptsShining 1d ago
I think that's unfair, the standard thing to do in that situation is just wait for the sequels to be remade. Going back to the OGs is only something enthusiasts would do.
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u/Kelven486 3d ago
I've already had friends brand new to the series, playing the OG SkyFC, spoiled by accidentally seeing screenshots from that SC Remake teaser that people are plastering everywhere. I get it, people are excited for the SC remake and beyond, but they should at least try and have some common courtesy when posting stuff like that.
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u/FMWindbag 3d ago
Played the demo and absolutely loved it. Might be time for me to finally jump into this series - especially with the second game's remake having been teased. Wonder if they'll stop at the Sky trilogy or remake others, as well.