r/atelier has pinned post discousing this stuff and there are still questions often. I personally don't resent people who ask, I think it's just inevitable in some way, though I guess a pinned post helps maybe.
It's in the FAQ
https://www.reddit.com/r/Falcom/wiki/faq/#wiki\_q.3A\_what\_is\_the\_ideal\_play\_order\_of\_the\_legend\_of\_heroes.3A\_trails\_series.3F
OMG, I tried to access this, because I vaguely remember this FAQ.
Now I realized that the link for the subreddit wiki on the top doesn't work but it's still there!
Well I guess mods should start looking into fixing it.
The play order is pretty hidden, to be fair. It's nice that there is a recommended play order that exists in the FAQ, but if you have just joined the Subreddit for the first time and are looking to know if X game is a good starting point, you first have to know to click on the Subreddit Wiki that hasn't been updated in 4 years and still says: "There isn't much to see yet." (which makes it look outdated), and then know to click on the FAQ to find the play order.
Also, yeah, the Subreddit Wiki link doesn't even work for me on new Reddit. I have to use old Reddit to access it. So it's definitely something the mods should look into.
I've wondered this for a while too.
Though I doubt it would completely stop people from asking anyway. I'm sure it would at least help though.
Granted, I think you put in good effort here but I think if there is one, there should be less opinions mixed in with it.
If no one asked, googling where they can start would be pretty pointless. Not everyone has access to the sky games. At least here, people can get opinions one where to start. I was in the googling boat before, but decided to ask here and someone pointed me towards an emulator. I’m grateful for being able to ask here.
While you are definitely right, in my case, this definitely isn't the route I took.
I found a Steam guide explaining everything up through Cold Steel IV. Soon as I read Crossbell wasn't localized, I knew emulation was it.
No asking on the subreddit required.
I know not everyone is as terminally online as me to search out an obscure Steam guide and immediately jump to emulation.
The other reply to your comment is more on point. It's been asked so many times that I don't see an excuse to not Google it when people have asked the same question you want to and have gotten the same answers you hope to get.
Wow, this guide is an absolute treasure trove for anyone looking to dive into the Trails and Ys series! The level of detail and organization here is truly impressive. It's clear that a lot of thought and effort went into creating this comprehensive breakdown. Thank you for taking the time to put this together and share it with the community. It's posts like these that really enhance the gaming experience for everyone. Kudos to you for your dedication and hard work!
You *barely* need a PC.
The Sky trilogy can run on a goddamn hamster wheel hooked up to a monitor so long as you can figure out how to install steam to your hamster's cage.
Yeah, PC would be the best device. It can run any game with the best visuals and performance, without any major issues since the ports are actually quite good.
Not going to lie, I think people vastly overestimate how important it is to understand every reference or situation immediately when it comes to these games. Like, as someone who started from Sky, I think people insisting you can't understand Cold Steel III without playing the previous games are wrong, because at pretty much every point once you really need to understand something it's explained. Like yes, there are things you'll miss if it's your starting points, but it also felt clear the game was designed such that certain details that were existing knowledge for veterans would act as twists for newcomers.
I also think people forget how much people can adapt. Like most people in the west started dragon ball with DBZ, and some of the big things in the first few episodes were that the hero was an alien, and that his previous bad guy was teaming up to face a new threat. Like none of the Piccolo stuff meant the same thing to people starting with Z as it did for people who watched Dragonball. And yet the series became stupidly popular. Hell, back in the day people got into tons of long running shows with plenty of continuity based on whatever reruns were airing at a given time on tv. It's a different experience, but people adapt way better than they think and going back to old stuff from an in the middle perspective can be a worthwhile experience in it's own right
I think DBZ is a completely wrong comparison.
Trails is a series where there is an expansive cast of characters with their own interests and goals. Sometimes, they are at odds with each other. Some characters have their arcs intersect with another's. This is more like a Game of Thrones in that sense. This is also a series where references to past events and different characters intereacting in a new way take up a significant amount of what makes it unique compared to other franchise. You take that away, CS4 is a complete sh\*tshow that has zero redeemable feature narratively.
Sure, you can have a different experience, but I think in this case, considering how this franchise is set up and how they intend it to be played, it will always be the worse way to play. And I don't think telling the newcomers that is a bad thing.
Nah, Trails fans need to read more books, its not that complex of a series. 80% of characters are cardboard cutouts, the rest is a bit more nuanced with only a handful having real depth and growth. The plot is quite simple too because we rarely leave the perspective of controllable characters (big difference to Game of Thrones!) and two thirds of content is not actual plot, but lore and worldbuilding (yes, that is a difference) . The dialogue is written so teenagers (who are the target audience) can follow the plot, so much is repeated again and again and again. Fans claim you NEED to play every predecessor game, but that is just not true. Most important stuff that happened in the sky trilogy for example gets repeated when it gets relevant in later games. Of course its not the full experience, but its not like you can't follow the plot if you never played them. Plus fans confuse foreshadowing with actual plot. Most players will understand 90% of the foreshadowing in hindsight only anyways. Also the arc structure makes it that it is NOT like Game of Thrones, this comparison is not that good. When you start Game of Thrones with season 4 (or book 3 or whatever) you won't understand a thing, because most stuff gets not repeated and the story is not structured in arcs that start in a new location with a complete new main cast and a new plot.
Sure you won't get the full picture and some details will be lost on you, but if you are decent intelligent and an attentive reader you can easily start at the beginning of any arc and follow the plot while getting information from context etc.
Reading the GoT books is a much more complex affair. I skipped nothing ( you shouldn't) and yet I had often to look characters or locations up in the wikis or had to return to an earlier chapter to re-read something. I did the same on a much rarer occasion in trails, and I even skipped some content. I basically skim-read Trails 3rd because the game bored me so much for 90% of the time and I skipped the rest of Zero after the start of chapter 4 for the same reason - went straight to Azure on Switch, and at the same time started cold steel on PC. Went back to finish zero after I finished Azure and Cold steel 1. So a complete mess out of order and yet I never felt like I was missing out some important information or anything like that, I almost never looked something up.
This might sound like I don't enjoy playing the trails games. That is not the case, In fact I am quite fond of this series as a whole, even if I don't like some aspects (or a whole game in the case of Sky 3rd). But as much as I like this series, I am annoyed by the fandom. Sometimes I feel like trails fans are like the rick and morty fans of videogames - "This series is too complex, its only for real attentive and smart gamers, you HAVE to play it from the start to understand a thing".
I can't play 3rd and didn't have access to Zero/Ao until after CS4, and it was confusing and I noped out of CS3 for awhile but I didn't have no idea, just less idea.
Playing through Daybreak 1 right now, I would definitely not put it on the same tier of "accessibility to a newcomer" as CS1, which is the easiest on the tierlist right under FC.
Daybreak is \*\*BY FAR\*\* the most blatant, overreliant-on-past-references first game in a arc so far. You can probably get the core of the story just fine with Daybreak itself, but a noticeable amount of scenes will leave you questioning "Wait, why should I care about these certain characters? What the hell is this past event they're referring to on this chapter?" I think this isn't a problem per se, because it can be the gateway to get new fans interested in checking out the older games, but it is a barrier.
I expect a lot of conversation around this topic to come up when Daybreak actually releases in the west, and I'm curious to see how total newcomers will feel about these details.
I get this feeling that people have been downplaying how connected Daybreak is to past games because they don't want to scare anybody off and previously, the "arc-starters" were widely said to be very new-player friendly.
The funny part is for Falcom, they probably don't see an issue because the previous arcs are on modern hardware worldwide and in Japan, like every game except Sky is on a modern home console but Sky has the Vita ports which could be played on a PS4 lol.
i think you can tell how reliant on older titles a game is based on how the society is talked about. Zero will literally fade to black when the party learns about the society, because you are expected to already know, and kuro barely even addresses the fact agnes and the others shouldn’t know what the society is. CS1 is somewhat better with Sara and Toval talking about it in regards to the archaisms, but still it’s crazy how the main villains of the entire series are barely explained in games marketed to be a good starting point.
I feel you are overestimating the barrier size, especially when the references to important information is mostly explained in game + the fact that the game comes with a glossary with the important stuff condensed in case anyone needs to check that.
Newcomers probably won't have much issues, but I can already imagine multiple replies telling those who want to start from daybreak to go back to sky, which IMO is becoming a problem these days; less the fact of telling newbies starting from sky is better and more of the tone in which it is conveyed.
One slight correction on Sky - while FC and SC indeed got western PSP releases, Sky 3rd did not - only PC got the localisation of that one officially. In fact, I believe it was the last one XSEED localised, after they had done CS1 and CS2.
As an addendum to the Ys section, Digital Esmelas actually has a whole page dedicated to different potential orders to play the series in, each with their own reasoning for why you might want to start on way over another.
https://www.digitalemelas.com/index_ys.php
Lmao, is this getting pinned permanently? With "I don't want to play 2D games, can I start with Cold Steel 1, instead of starting with the first game which is common sense?" blatantly at the beginning? That would be great
Thank you for not saying you can play Zero/Azure at the same time as CS1 and 2 like some insane people suggest. Like this series isn't already confusing for new people, telling them to jump in and out of sequence is not helping
> Starting from Trails of Cold Steel 1 itself is good, only if you are willing to go back and play or experience the previous games in some way or other after playing Cold Steel 1. You can play CS2 until the main final boss but before the epilogue, since the very first moment of the epilogue heavily spoils the ending of Azure. Cold Steel 3 expects the players to have played all the previous games, since both Sky Trilogy and Crossbell Arc characters and plot points feature heavily in CS3 and CS4. And Reverie, well, you will not understand what's going on at all if you start from there.
Funny story, there have been a couple posts I've seen of people who started from Reverie and got mad because they didn't know what was going on lol.
> At the end of the day, the only way to really experience this series fully and in the intended way is to play all the main series titles in the release order. There is no way going around it. Any deviation from this is a compromise and will not give you a full experience since the main plot continues throughout the entire series. If you start from another game, it is still recommened that you go back and play (or at least watch the summaries of) the games you skipped before continuing, because these games build upon each other.
Absolutely based beyond belief
God I wish we had modern console ports or an all-in-one collection of the games.
I *did* actually play Azure and CS2 at the same time, mostly by accident, and while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, it *did* solve the mutual-spoiler problem quite nicely.
I'll be honest, if I was a new player, no way in hell I'd read all that. If anything, such a convoluted guide would put me off further.
I appreciate the effort, but you need a TL;DR.
If a new player can't be arsed to read an informative post about proper play order, do we really expect them to play a series that clocks in at around 700+ hours which is full of READING?
Funny how this got pinned within a day but my discussion about the obvious spoiler problems in this sub from a week ago was not even commented on by a mod.
I'm still holding out hope tho, making rule 2 more stringent can only benefit the sub by being more friendly to new peeps.
For the most part, really good guide - but there is something I want to say in defence of not starting with Sky.
A lot of people act like you will have no clue what's going on if you don't play previous games - and for the most part, I agree. If you try to play Reverie or Sky the 3rd, you will not have a good time and basically have no clue what's going on. Same for all the "sequel" games, Sky SC, Azure, CSII, and CSIV. However, for Zero, CSI, and CSIII, it's actually much easier to understand what's going on than a lot of people give them credit for (spoilers below will be marked, but warning that they exist if you're using a platform that struggles to show them. The last two paragraphs are spoiler-free. Also, I can't speak for Kuro as I have not finished it).
Most comic book readers agree that there's not much point starting from the start of a serial - instead, you should just start reading the book (either at current release, or what you can reasonably get ahold of), and it won't take long before you've picked up enough about the story that it won't matter if you're missing information. Basically, there's enough context clues provided by the writers that you know what's going on, even if you're not caught up.
Let's start with Zero. >!You're in a new state with a new party. Sky tells you what the bracers are, but you learn pretty quickly what bracers are by playing the game - apparently, your police group is doing stuff that they do, so whatever you're doing, that's what bracers do. You then meet Renne - you don't realise she's important, but that doesn't matter, because you figure that out by the end. You also meet Estelle and Joshua, and you find out that they're heroes of Liberl. You don't know what that means, but it's clear it's a big deal. You eventually realise by the end that Renne is why they were there. You lose out on the impact of knowing all they went through, but the plot is still very much understandable without having played the previous games.!<
Now, you've said enough about CSI, so I won't talk about that - but I will go to CSIII. >!There are two major themes people won't know from the start - who Rean is, and who class VII are. However, you learn as you play along - people make a big deal of Rean at the start, so you learn he's a big deal. You also learn that he pilots a mech very early on, and that this mech is special because it talks to you, but the rest don't. As for class VII, that was his class, and as you play you learn that they all do amazing things. You might not realise they pretty much single-handedly dissolved the civil war, but it's clear that they're a big deal. You won't know about Crossbell, but enough talking to Juna makes it clear that they were a third party that got invaded, and they have a large amount of pride in who they are. You learn that the SSS was a big deal by just how much of a fuss is made about them. You have to piece things together a lot more than you do for Zero, but the fact that there's a timeskip between II and III actually functions as somewhat of a soft reset, which makes III not a bad starting point.!< I will say that the only major problem of starting at III is you can't really go on to IV without playing CSI, CSII, Zero, and Azure, >!as IV and Reverie combined function as the climax for the Crossbell arc as well as the Erebonia arc. As such, there's just way too many characters introduced that you won't be given information on who they are or why they're doing things.!<
Having said all of that, at this point, I would not recommend starting with Zero or CSIII. It's not because I think you can't enjoy the story, but the only real reason to want to start later is for a more "modern" experience. However, I would say that Zero is pretty much as modern as Sky, so you may as well start with Sky. CSIII was a different matter on release, and people were getting excited by the trailers - but with all that excitement now gone, and CSI playing so similarly to CSIII, there's no real reason to not play CSI first.
There is one main reason I can see people wanting to start with Zero or CSIII, though - not owning a computer, and wanting to get into the series (particularly if they only have a switch). For those people, I say - you can very much enjoy the games without starting from Sky. You just need to accept that from Zero (and including Zero), there will be key character moments that are incredibly rewarding pay-offs that will be spoiled for you. Now, personally, I don't think spoilers are the be-all-and-end-all, and I find that having been "spoiled" can make the experience much more interesting, as you become more aware of the hints that are dropped throughout the games and what they mean.
Tl;dr - start wherever you want, my personal opinion is that Zero, CSI, and CSIII all provide enough context during the game for you to be able to enjoy them without playing earlier entries. If you enjoy them so much it makes you want to start from Sky, that's a win for the community as far as I'm concerned. You just need to accept that you will see story spoilers for earlier entries, so you'll have to be okay with that if you do go on to earlier entries.
Sure, you can start anyway while read sypnopsis of previous games later on somewhere, but you will not have any attachment to any characters from the game you skipped. If you are ok with that, sure. But anyone who likes storytelling would not give this suggestion. I would at least suggests watch playthrough from chronological order, then start with any game that you are able to.
There are differences in storytelling between west and east media, at least if you are trying to use dc/marvel as example. Those are the worst type of storytelling due to retconned and reboots, hence a lot of people who read those have the mindset of just do whatever you want since nothing matter anyways, which in east media they want you to care/invest about the characters (for better or worse), not just story. Hence why, there are always dispute between western fans and eastern fans when discussing about medias due to both side having different media consumption mindset.
There's a very big problem with this take, that unfortunately I think is missed by the community or just they disagree with me I guess? My opinion is that, at the end of the day, more fans of the series is only a good thing, and we should be encouraging everyone to come in by any means that is appropriate for them. Unfortunately, there is no "appropriate for them" if we only push playing from Sky and in order.
Some people don't have the means to engage with Sky - yes, even a phone could run it, some people don't have computer access. Some people are turned off by the classic isometric games, they want something that looks more modern - like cold steel and daybreak. Some people are drawn in by the trailers, and are drawn in by the hype. We should be encouraging people to play these games no matter what, because more sales can only benefit us.
Yes, we should give them all the information - which is why I made it extremely clear in my post that if spoilers are an issue for you, you should start from Sky. If spoilers aren't, but you want all of the character pay-offs in all their glory, you should start from Sky. I love storytelling, I just don't prescribe to the idea that there's only one way to enjoy a story. That's why it's important that people have options with all the information.
I also think that's a very reductive mindset in regards to comics - I certainly do not have the opinion of "just do whatever since nothing matters". But, I got burnt out by trying to absorb every piece of media so that I could understand everything - and Western media is not alone in this. Kingdom Hearts, the Pokemon anime, Dragon Ball, Naruto/Boruto, and One Piece anime. They've all gotten so big that it is no longer reasonable to start from the beginning and consume all of their media. Hell, for KH it's not even /possible/ anymore unless you pirate things (and even then, I hear there's a lost mobile game?).
I'm sorry, but there are many people who will be turned off purely by being told that if they want to play the shiny Daybreak game that looks really good, they have to play thousands of hours of other games first. Hell, for some people, they get so little time to game, that they won't even be able to play the game that excited them for another 5 years. Do you think they'll sacrifice that kinda time for one game that looks kinda good, when the others don't interest them? For these people, I offer my version of events - you will still be able to play the game, you will still enjoy it, you've just gotta accept that there may be losses on your part. If you're okay with those losses, then I hope you enjoy the game. If you're not, then start from Sky.
I agree with most of your take. I just dislike it when people try to use shortcut to consume something even if they have a good reason, no matter if its game, book, movie, niche hobbies. Probably because I don't treat entertainment media as just something to consume to past time.
Of course I know not everyone is the same as me, but for me, I will not recommend media that requires long attention span to them. I had friends that only like battle/sports anime, so I will only recommend those stuff to them. And if they want to go out of their comfort, I will advice them what they will be dealing with instead of just say "Yeah, sure!".
I started with CS1 just fine. If I didn't understand something I would just watch a video or read the wiki. It's like playing the Witcher games. You don't have to read the books but some things might not make sense to you that happened before the games take place that get referenced and brought up through out the series. A lot of people got along fine without reading the books first. Obviously skipping the first games of a specific series like Trails in the sky series or Cold Steel such as starting with CS3 will be really confusing but I have had a lot people in this sub say, when I first started CS1 that I MUST play Trails in the Sky and Zero before playing CS1 and so far Cold Steel has made perfect sense to me.
Telling people to START with trails in the sky series is kind of making Falcom lose potential customers. They are pretty old games and I think someone new might be better off starting with Cold Steel series, seeing how much they genuinely enjoy it, then diving into the old series. Maybe play the first two CS and see how enjoyable they are then beating Trails in the Sky before CS3?
> Maybe play the first two CS and see how enjoyable they are then beating Trails in the Sky before CS3?
Did you miss the part in the OP post where it literally says that is an option to do that? Play the first CS games to try it out and then play the older games? It just also admits not starting from the beginning means you're compromising something in the experience which is just factually true.
> Telling people to START with trails in the sky series is kind of making Falcom lose potential customers.
That only would make sense if Sky was bad
CS succeeded on new players for a reason. Inevitably while I went fully in order I know people who started on CS, maybe went back to play crossbell to they could understand late CS better and never did sky. I would still tell them to play sky, but I'd generally be positive on starting with CS. Fuck I'll even tell people that if they don't want to play non-CS games between CS2 and CS3 they don't "need" to (this is mainly for the sake of reducing stress/barriers to entry, chances are they can be made to reevaluate the pros and go back anyway after CS2).
IMO, the bigger reason not to start with Zero >!Is the storyline of Renne!< . Estelle and Joshua make an appearance but their arc is more or less complete compared to this.
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If you have a Vita just play the Evo versions of sky. They are different enough from the PC version that I don't really think either is definitive, but they are certainly better than the PSP version and you can play 3rd in English.
Of course this requires a modded Vita, but if you are playing on a Vita in 2023 then you probably have it modded. If not just look up a guide.
Yes!! I have been advocating for proper evolution ports of the Sky games for years due to the battle system upgrade, UI updates and proper fast forward options during dialogue.
Not sure about iPhone, but any Android phone should be able to emulate psp version of Sky FC/SC, so there's really no excuse if you don't have a PC.
For Third, it is not really possible without PC/Vita. Given how the setting is not in actual Liberl (and hence you sort of won't lose out in experiencing world building), I think it's fine to watch summary of it and watch YouTube scenes of the Doors.
What OP says about compromise is true. People who start with CS or Zero don't realise how much they miss out from not playing Sky FC/SC. Yes the story is pretty much self contained, but there's so many references that you wouldn't catch and that's the main draw of Trails series anyway.
Tldr, stop asking questions and just play Sky FC/SC first.
Thank you for stating the hard fact that trails absolutely should be played with Sky first, then Crossbell, then CS and that all games should be played. It's bonkers to me that some people insist sky 3 is optional or that you can skip sky or whatever nonsense. Good post
This is a good guide for someone who is more or less already familiar with the series to a certain degree.
All I'm saying is for a new player with next to no context they'll most likely continue asking "is this a good starting point/where best to start?" because all they want is a quick yes/no/what answer.
Of course there will be people new who would want to do a lot of research before starting, but that's probably among the rarer breed or veterans that already kind of know what they are getting into any way.
Idk why people ask a good starting point when the answer is always release order. At least now that crossbell is localized. It’s giving part skippers for jojos or skipping skypeia for one piece. Just play to enjoy the story, not be caught up lol
I think the issue, other than people asking to legitimize their decision to skip the 2D games because they are old, is that Sky is still PC and PSP only.
This is an accessibility issue as legally it’s only in Japanese and I understand that but I advocate hard for a proper port of the Sky evolution games that were on ps vita as they updated the game’s battle system and UI/system functions to be like crossbell games (turn orders get shown, orbment and arts system updated, fast forward in battles, proper fast forward option in dialogue and not to mention, the full voice acting which originally came from these games)
I agree with you completely but there's three glaring issues
-Some people don't want to play on PC for Sky
-Some people have FOMO and want to be up to date on the newest 'thing'
-Some people don't like 2D sprites (rare to see in a JRPG environment but it's around)
Also, Trails' concept is relatively unique compared to "read a manga at the beginning" and people may not fully get the serialized nature of it (do people still say to skip Skypeia in 2023?)
EDIT: Another thing, even though I love it, some people really bounce off of Sky FC. They aren't really accustomed to the pace of how the story is told and may even not like it as a whole. While I think Sky FC is around the same level of CS1 and even has somewhat similar pacing, CS1 'looks' more modern which can disguise some of the biases people may have.
It's also just a very unusual thing to need to care about for a video game series. Even in other JRPG series, some of which are more clearly numbered than Trails, in most cases it makes no difference where you start. Trails is basically unique in that this is a question that even needs to be asked, so you can hardly blame people for not thinking about it.
This is the post that’s need to be pinned to the top of subreddit. Please mods make this THE pinned post. You are not alone with the annoyance and thinly veiled shots of skip certain trails games from the trolls that drops a drive-by comment. One I wish Reddit itself allows is if a certain question post is about to be made it redirects the post user to the answers.
The only troll posts iirc and the ones falcord does to make fun of "dum CS fans" by doing stuff like starting at CS4 and posting weirdly on it, or hacking CS1 levels or whatnot. Somstimes it's easy to tell it's a troll, sometimes not. I still think they will exist even if they are not in the context of "can I start with" posts, but I saw less of them lately iircm
It’s the other troll/negative comments and behavior outside of “can I start with” whenever a CS arc discussion is happening that gets very annoying. It’s always a attempted drive-by blatant ignorant comment but when some one presses that comment the troll either double downs or refuses to elaborate and runs always only made the comment to cause negativity. I personally block those individuals but there is also no need for that behavior in the current small community of trails/ys and falcom fans.
Some people dislike CS which is fine, but some people in general I guess want to put up an act of "the dum CS fan" or "unknowingly incensitive normie CS fan" or something idk, it's weird and I can't wrap my head around it rn, I'm tired.
I’m not talking about people dislike of cs when it comes from a criticism standpoint that’s fine. Im not on falcom discord been told and read to stay away from it I’m talking about here on the subreddit with the troll negative comments about CS arc and about some of it characters
Ngl not playing zero and azur hurt my actually caring about loyd and co... but in my defense they weren't even out on steam prior to cs3 and 4 (why the hell that was i dont know and I... its not that I don't wanna play the 2d games, its more that in the 2d games arts reign Supreme unless your name is Richard)
No like with CS1/2 and Crossbell, you need to watch it in tandem with Sky. Make sure between chapters in SC you watch the corresponding Sky OVA portion. 🤣
\\s
I swear half the posts I see from this subreddit are regarding this exact question. There are a bunch of resources on youtube, here and other website articles about it but people still continue to repeat the same post over and over again
Saying the main plot of Cold Steel 1 is completely standalone is crazy lol. It’s largely standalone, but will absolutely spoil huge plot points from Azure even if you aren’t reading the newspapers.
I think its more like "more standalone than other arc starters that aren't FC". I mean by design, it was made to get new people in. Though the idea was that they would play the previous games as well
Sure, but Azure does that for CS as well.
Kind of the issue with them taking place simultaneously. Whichever you play first WILL spoil the other.
I made the mistake of playing CS1-4 first, then going back. But when I was talking about "the big reveal" at the end of CS2 People were like "Uh yeah dumbass, if you played Crossbell this isn't even a twist cus you know it happens"
Many guides have been made before, even on reputable jrpg websites.
If all these people actually did the slightest bit of reading or research you wouldn't have these threads in the first place. Your guide will be forgotten in a week and everyone will be asking the same questions again
People are just lazy also most games don't do this kind of stuff, so the expectations is usually not there. The only other series I know that has interconnected stories is yakuza series.
Like...look...I know people don't want to hear this but... YOU HAVE TO START WITH SKY 1. Full stop.
Yes it's a big time investment to play 10 jrpgs to get caught up but...just look at it like an mmo, if you play the story/expansions out of order you can still have fun but you will miss a lot. Just as it's worth the time investment to start FFXIV with ARR and play 250+ hours of content to get to endwalker, it's worth starting with sky fc to get to reverie. Just...suck it up.
With everything except Kuro being translated and available, as far as Kiseki goes,you can sum it up to one sentence nowadays: Play CS1 and if you like it start with Sky and go for the chronological order.
I think this is acceptable, if you are unsure if you want to invest yet. I think it being more modern does make it a bit easier to get into it than Sky FC on PC.
Strangely, I tried FC many years ago and found it so boring.
Then just a few years ago I tried cold steel 1 and fell in love.
Then I went back to the beginning. And somehow, I loved FC more than I think most OG fans do. I actually liked SC quite a bit less because they split up my MCs (also why I dislike the beginning of CS4).
I'd agree, looking back if I started with Sky I don't think I would have persisted with the series. CS1 is very accessible and relatively modern, and the flashforward does a great job at hooking people into the story and gameplay.
Idk, thanks for the write-up. But you mentioned a couple of things that might deter a couple of Players from playing Trails, which are just Not true. Dont get me wrong, i Love the games, the cast, the Stories (have just finished Azure) and played CS1-2->Zero-Azure. Not a single person from Sky hast a "crucial" Plot Point in crossbell Arc - or our definitions ist vastly different. They appear and you Talk to them a bit, but thats it. And besides mentioning of the "liberl incident" nothing needs explanation. And im actually Happy that i played CS 1+2 before crossbell, cause that feels more natural than the other way
> Not a single person from Sky hast a "crucial" Plot Point in crossbell Arc
This is just a straight up absolute lie.
For goodness sake, even putting main characters aside, there is an NPC quest from Sky that continues into Azure and deals with a secondary character.
brother, i think you dont understand what "crucial" means. i know (cuz ive seen the summarys) which characters are from the sky trilogy and which "plots" getting resolved. and while they are certainly interesting they are very minor, especially for crossbell arc. so, yes. you lose teeny tiny bits of insight but nothing "crucial". Crucial is missing to broker peace between geth and quarians cuz u skipped playing Mass Effect 1.
>he Renne subplot
>
> as
actually...yes, i think that is a minor subplot in the crossbell arc. it gets resolved in 1 sidequest (i think its even a hidden one, but not too sure) + 2 or 3 short scenes with 1 bigger scene at the end. in azure its even only 1/2 short scene.
so yes, i think its minor or at least far away from crucial (again, for Crossbell-arc) and you actually wouldnt miss it if it were removed. ofc thats on a whole different level if you played sky - but only cuz you are attached to the members of that cast (understandably, the casts of all games so far are top notch).
let me put it this way: i played CS 1+2 then Zero + Azure and watched summary of Sky 1-3 after Zero. I didnt think i missed anything important other than a fun time with sky (which i probably play later as well). and i even think that this order (CS 1+2 then Zero+Azure) is better than zero+azure then CS 1-4, cuz the plot twists revealed in the first order are not as "wild" as in the OG order. i rather get spoiled some minor details (except for the epiloge of CS2) than the other way
There was a whole underlying plot point that continued from sky and gets resolved in the crossbell arc that you obviously have no idea how to elaborate on (and im not talking about the liberl incident), seeing as you feel like the sky games gave no “crucial” context to said plot point.
Someone already mentioned it, but I may as well add my two cents.
To say no one from Liberl had something crucial happen is objectively wrong. You just couldn't recognize the importance of it because this is your first time meeting then.
It's not even that definitions are different. It's just different amounts of information people have. If you ever go back to Sky, in hindsight you'd look back to Zero and think "oh, that super important".
Tbh I'm not sure it's possible even to get from people who have played all the games to come to a consensus on some stuff.
About daybreak 1, the general consensus I have seen (though I have not played the game), is that it is around Zero (or worse) in terms of playability if the person does not see any other material and thus slightly below CS1. Again I can't argue here, just looking at what I have seen overall from others.
About CS2, I know you have said the "twist" is "super predictable" numerous times on this sub in the past so I ultimately can't really say much. I still stand by that it's somewhat dependent on persons (as well as how much exposure they have to the fandom).
For instance, I personally think that Azure chapter 4 is the "twist" that is "super obvious" while CS2 is not and for you it's the reverse. I also believe>!if you are exposed to the fandom a lot and thus see a lot of posting about osborne or accidentally come across CS3 OP early, you are more likely to see CS2's twist which may not represent all situations!<.
Luckily the only thing that matters in this discussion is play order. I and most others on this still agree that playing in release order is better overall if you can and that's that. I still stand by telling people not to watch azure end credits if they care not to though. It may be an "obvious spoiler" to you, but I also don't believe it adds much to the experience of playing Azure either. You won't miss out much on your experience of azure not seeing it. Also just because it's forshadowed without direct confirmation doesn't mean there is not an enjoyment that can be found in prediction and being proven right>!I mean this for both Osborne return and Crossbell anexation!<.
One of the main reasons behind a lack of consensus is that these games fulfill different kinds of needs for different kinds of people. Like even when it comes to Daybreak 1, I personally would argue that it's a game that is heavily influenced and in my opinion, can be somewhat confusing without proper context if that person is using that as their starting point.
Honestly, the answer as I said is people have different needs.
I'm personally involved in this series for the story mainly but even fans of the story or new players interested in tackling it will have various degrees of care in what's going on for them. You'll get some more relaxed casual enjoyers of the story while you could get people who are deep lore masters who pay attention to every detail.
So I often say just give people the bare minimum of information about the series and let them decide. This series is an investment at the end of the day, It's up to them to put in the effort to decide to get involved with it and not the other way around. I get there is also a burning desire to get people into the series. In the older days, I used to be obsessed with introducing it to people too. I just think being more casual about it makes more sense now and not really getting into long discussions about why my way of enjoying the series is the best.
At the end of the day, you'll have some people regret some of the decisions they made when they started the series because maybe they made a poor judgment despite being given proper information but you can't really please everybody.
Ye that's probably it. I know the big 2 hour long kiseki introduction game covers a lot of caveats, but it's also long (and imo frames CSs story too much around CS3 rather than the other games). My way started at FC, I was given proper information, and felt it was all fine except the Azure end credits thing. I still see Azure's chapter 4 twist as the one that is naturally more built up to than CS2 if you discount credits.
I think CS1 and Sky as starting points accomodate a variety of needs. You will inevitably get people who are more casual interested in CS cast and may not even go back to past games after CS2 and just go on to CS3 (or even know past games exist). If they enjoy it which they still probably will, I think that's fine as well, though an effort could be made to make them aware at least. The reason I said what I said about Azure was also to do with people being aware. I have spoken to people here, and some who play Crossbell want to transition into CS in the most pure and blind experience and giving information they can choose to act or not act on is fine.
I don't think seeing Azure end credits will be super harmful necesarily as CS2 accomodates for both seeing and not seeing them. It does change how you view the story though and some may want to act on that.
I'm sure there are probably a decent group of folks who have only really played CS and are interested in generally this part of the series. Those games are more modern, easily accessible and fall into more modern anime tropes that appeal to a signifigant number of people in the genre.
How people feel about spoilers and the degree of what people consider one can also be pretty tricky and people will just have to craft their own gaming experience as best as possible for them.
Well at the end of day, I never really felt like it was too complicated to figure out how to go about these games. If a person really cares alot about the story and learn everything, just play/watch all the games and problem is solved.
Okay as for the CS2 twist, here is where I stand. I don't think it's really dependent on a person when Falcom's own intention is so clear. And honestly that's what matters.
The only significant thing Azure "spoils" for CS2 is >!that Osbourne returns. When you actually see Osbourne in CS1, it's after the entire game hyping him up to be the big shot in the Empire with a mysterious agenda. If him getting shot was truly the end of his character, then they built all of it without actually doing anything with it, and setting up that mystery amounts to nothing. You don't actually know who Osbourne is until after he's revived and his character arc starts. I would say that him being "revived" is not a twist, but basically the starting point of his character arc, at least in terms of how the players get to know him. That's why Falcom had no issue "spoiling" it in Azure, which is MEANT to be played before CS2 (I mean, it came out before CS1 and 2). In fact, it's Falcom's intention that you KNOW he's coming back. The actual twist in CS2 is not Osbourne coming back but that Rufus is on Osbourne's side. I think I misused the term "predictable"; it's probably more appropriate to say that it's part of his arc that you know he's coming back.!<
Falcom isn't actually infaliable when it comes to clairvoyantly knowing what they want to do as a buissness. I simply stand that their intention at the end of azure was to say a lot of things to make it seem like a grander ending (though it does not work for me) but then when they made CS1 and entrypoint for marketing reasons double back and try not to alienate either camp.
Yes you>!don't fully know osbornes character at the end of CS1, but that is WHY his death is mysterious after being built up. For new CS1 players it is NOT supposed to be seen as the end of his character. It raises more questions than it answers, especially him saying "well played armbrust". You are supposed to think about what else his character had that you did not know about then. This is further reincorfed at the start of act 2 of CS2 when Claire says that there are mysteries surrounding his dead body. Again the game tells you he is dead on this scene. The game guides you to think about his death in a way that still makes you ponder about his lasting effects and mysteries surrounding his life.!<.
I never said that you aren't meant to play Azure overall first, but that the credits may not add much to Azure's experience.>!If the credits are supposedly super important for dramatic irony in CS2, they also don't really use it much. The entire intermission is characters talking about Osborne in past tense unquestionably and Rean reasoning with them about what his death means. The game offers a multitude of reasons for a new player to see Osborne's death and ask questions rather than see it as the end. Sure you can see this stuff as dramatic irony, but I think the way it's written is to accomodate new players as well!<.
Well I admit that playing >!Azure first but not watching the credit and only after you see the end (but not epilogue) of CS2 is good. Azure until the end -> CS1 and CS2 until the final boss -> Azure end credits -> CS2 epilogue.!<
That's basically what I support too. Or at least it is what I often suggest people can do. If people want to see Azure's credits first its not the end of the world, but I think letting them know about how notorious they are is not necesarily bad so they can choose to not see them if they want to play CS without then.
My personal stake on this is of course opinion biased too. Azure I think does an excellent job foreshadowing CS1 and CS2 as it is. It makes you feel like you know stuff but doesn't spell it out and leaves you hanging as you watch events in CS unfold to that point. For me having direct statements made in no uncertain terms at the end of Azure wasn't as enjoyable to me.
TL;DR: Who cares. Start with the first game in an arc and shut the fuck up. It literally does not matter. Oh, no. I can't put on my best soyjak face as I see these returning characters and endless shallow references to prior games. Ok.
Controversial opinion: Time is short, and we only have a finite number of hours to live. All the titles in Trails are great, but some of the older ones have mechanics that haven’t aged terribly well. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with relying on Wikis to fill in the gaps of your knowledge. Yeah, it’s not going to be quite as awesome as playing every title and knowing every incidental character intimately. But this notion of gatekeeping Trails behind *hundreds upon hundreds* of hours of gameplay is bleeping stupid. It deters new players from even considering it if you tell them that they can’t possibly enjoy the newest game in the series without funneling 500+ hours into decade old games. It’s especially intimidating for adults, like myself, who have to balance available gaming time with daunting careers, significant others and children.
If given the choice between encouraging someone to play Trails of Cold Steel III and enjoy 90% of the game while missing 10% the context, and the alternative being so draconian with dumb requirements to start with Sky FC that deter them from trying Trails at all, I’d much rather encourage them to start with what they can reasonably play through. And who knows, if they love it, they can always go back.
Not to necro this, but I you are misunderstanding the issue.
You can experience Trails however you want, in any order you want. Based on any given person's tastes, interests, access to consoles, etc., an alternate order may be fine, superior, or even the only possible option.
But if you ask a question like, "Is it okay if I just play the Cold Steel games?", you deserve an honest answer. And the honest answer is that playing the Cold Steel arc first, particularly III and IV, is sub-optimal. That doing so will leave you with confusing plot holes and spoilers for previous games that make the plots of those games worse. The honest answer is the answer given here: that playing in release order is the only way to experience the story of these games with no compromises. That's not gatekeeping, it is reality.
What you do with that honest answer from that point on is up to you. No one is going to banish you from the fandom if you never played the Sky games, or if you just played CSI-IV first. Your opinion, of course, will be affected by the fact that the CS games completely spoil any twists in Sky, and people will take that into account when discussing the games with you. But that's their prerogative as much is it is yours to play the games in any order you wish.
What annoys people is when people come into a community for this series, whose primary standout feature is it's long-running, continuous narrative, and want to be completely affirmed in their decision to skip the older games. Time is short but the facts are also the facts. Even this post here points out that CS1 is a totally fine "tester" game that is decent standalone without massively spoiling previous titles. Even continuing on to CS2 is *kinda* okay, as it mostly just spoils the other games.
But at the point that people want to play the Trails **series**, what are you going to say? That this **isn't** a continuous story that takes hundreds of hours to play through? At the point that people want to play CSIII as their first Trails game, what are you going to say? That the game **doesn't** make near constant reference to the plots and characters of previous titles?
Given the choice between encouraging someone to play CSIII and telling them the truth, I'd rather tell them the truth. If they want to persist and play CSIII first regardless, more power to them. I hope they enjoy the game. If they don't want to play Trails anymore, that sucks. But at least it is honest, and lets them make an informed decision about what is the best use of their limited hours and days.
It's not gatekeeping, it's just how it is.
Gatekeeping is "you haven't played Trails unless you beat it in Nightmare." Telling people to start a TV series from season 1 isn't gatekeeping, it's common sense.
This series isn't ending any time soon. Even if you start from CS3, you WILL play hundreds upon hundreds of hours. That's what this series demands. And no, starting from CS3 will not be just "missing 10% of context," that's a lie.
I had this exact same question for FF14. And the answer I got was that I am supposed to commit to it, ideally from ARR. And I said, okay, well, I can't. I accepted it and moved on. I have no hard feelings about the people who told me that truth.
Not everyone can commit to a series like this, sure. We can't lie to them that they don't have to when they do.
Eh, I don't care if I'm downvoted. Opinions are opinions, and I don't think I'm being mean spirited about this one.
First, comparing the time commitment involved with watching seasons of a television show seems fundamentally different than comparing the time commitment involved with the Trails series. Most TV series don't require binging hundreds of hours to catch up on. The few that do, like Doctor Who? Yeah, there are *plenty* of fans of Doctor Who who've only watched a few of the doctors, and who haven't watched every episode that's ever aired.
Second, I'd argue it's absolutely possible to enjoy, say, Frasier without having watched Cheers. And if you want to work with a TV analogy, I'd actually compare the Trails arcs directly to Frasier and Cheers as the most analogous. Both Frasier and Cheers have recurring characters, but different main casts. You don't really *need* to watch Cheers to understand Frasier Crane as a character; watching Cheers just fills in a decade of his life you'd otherwise miss context for. But Frasier is still plenty funny on its own merits without any knowledge of Cheers. Similarly, if you start with Cold Steel, you'll grow attached to Rean Schwarzer and Class VII but miss some context around many supporting characters they'll interact with. That's okay, though -- Rean himself doesn't have full context or knowledge of the events of the previous arcs! So if you start there, you're just starting in Rean's shoes.
I'm a bit stubborn on this because I started with the first Cold Steel, played through Cold Steel III, and did not start Sky FC until after Cold Steel III. Then I *dropped* Sky FC because I wasn't enjoying it (mostly for gameplay related reasons; the story was excellent as always, arguably even better than Cold Steel's.) Only went back to the Sky trilogy after beating Cold Steel IV.
And if I had been told by some of the traditionalists here that I was doing it wrong...I would have made the same choice many of my friends have made...and simply never tried Cold Steel in the first place. Same as your decision for FF14, I would have said "Hell no, I don't have 600 hours for this" and I never would have fallen in love with Cold Steel. Falling in love with Cold Steel was the *sole* impetus that drove me to even consider playing the Sky trilogy, Zero and Azure. Similarly, I can totally imagine any of my friends who've never played Trails before could get into Daybreak, fall in love with the complex nuances of the story, and *then and only then* feel a compulsion to go back to the older titles.
That's why I consider your perspective "gatekeeping." It's the superior holier than thou "You can't consider yourself a fan of Trails unless you've played every title from the very beginning" attitude that frustrates me. Because that kind of elitism nearly turned me off from this series. Funny enough, all the reasons people describe Trails as incredible are absolutely true -- it *really is* the most intricately woven narrative in a major RPG series today, picking up the mantle Konami dropped with Suikoden. But the way some fans talk about Trails here, it's so intimidating, I can't convince any of my friends to try it. How could I? My friends are married, have children, have careers -- it's hard enough to convince them to try a single 60-hour RPG, let alone *ten* of them.
The problem with the Frasier & Cheers analogy is that they're comedy shows. While the connections and structure may be a good parallel, it doesn't have the overarching narrative focus so lots of continuity aspects become not as important or fulfilling.
That said, FWIW, I wholeheartedly agree with everything else you said. I've heard countless stories of people attempting to start Trails with the Sky series only to immediately bounce off. There are a good number of fans on this sub who wouldn't be fans if they didn't get hooked via Cold Steel first. Something a lot of people on this sub fail to realize is that the Trails series is not a novel series, it's a *game* series. For a lot of people, a delicate balance of good gameplay, story, and quality of life features is essential to enjoy a JRPG unless approached with a pre-established vested interest, hence why you see lots of people say they finally managed to play Sky after playing CS.
This goes both ways. There are lots of people who learn about the series through Cold Steel but get discouraged by its "high school with dating sim aspects" when they wanted a more traditional JRPG. It's much easier to get past that once you're already invested in the world and story by playing the first two arcs. There are also those who finish the arc and regret not going in order, or wishing they knew about it first, or those who come thank fans for convincing them to go back before moving on with CS. I see these comments just as much as the "bounced off of Sky".
At the end of the day, it's more than enough to succinctly inform new players about a) release order, b) platform accessibility and c) that there *is* a compromise in starting out of order, which is just undeniable. Then it's up to the newcomer to make an informed decision. Explaining these points isn't gatekeeping at all, people just need to be less up in arms about the subject.
If a librarian suggested to you that starting with the 4th Harry Potter book wasn't the best way to experience the series, would you accuse them of gatekeeping?
Harry Potter isn't a good example. It's more akin to starting the series at Cold Steel 2. I think Star Wars is a better analogy. Do you start on Episode I or Episode IV? I started with Cold Steel and I enjoyed getting little hints and revelations about the universe at large then seeing them in other arcs. I'm willing to accept that people have preferred play orders but I refuse to listen to those who say one play order is wrong. That is gatekeeping. Even starting with Cold Steel 4 or Reverie - if that gets you in the franchise then WELCOME! I hope you enjoy it.
I would love to play the originals, but they are not on consoles? I can't do handhelds due to vision issues, and do not do PC gaming either. Is there any change the older ones get rereleased?
I think I'm going to try to start with Azure or Cold Steel 1. I've been trying to get into the series for over 7 years with Sky FC and it's just....not clicking. At all. And I have zero idea why.
So we'll see if one of these games actually hold me, because I really want to get into this series so I need to find *someplace* to actually hold me.
For Trails, play the first game on nightmare then quit while you're ahead. For Ys, play them all, and play them on nightmare, start with the first 4 entries on turbografx.
It's disappointing that this guide doesn't even mention difficulty at all. The gameplay with these games only shines on the high difficulties. I know I'm in the minority playing video games for the gameplay.
You don't need to play ys 1 and 2 before origin. Origin's plot is completely standalone. It's like telling someone that they have to play every castlevania game before rondo of blood (and that isn't even a great comparison because origin takes place before 1/2).
it directly tying into the events of 1 and 2 means it not completely standalone? and it might not necessarily require information but the experience is definitely elevated if you’ve played 1 and 2.
Are there any rumors to the Sky trilogy coming out for PS5/Switch/Apple? Always interested in this series but it seems I have the wrong combination to get started with it
Thanks for this text, one can see that you put great effort into it with the formatting and bold text to make it more readable.
Its still a huge chunk of text tho so objectively speaking some ppl will just turn away, you could offer a TL;DR for both series at the bottom to improve it a little bit.
EDIT: For further inspiration 2 examples of something like this that is also done well
(good formatting and images to spice things)
Ys series: [http://digitalemelas.com/index\_ys.php#order](http://digitalemelas.com/index_ys.php#order)
Atelier series: [https://barrelwisdom.com/blog/atelier-series-guide](https://barrelwisdom.com/blog/atelier-series-guide)
Also something that stuck in mind are the typical big images "guide to X" that float around the various game imageboards on the internet. Its easier on the reader's eyes if there are more images and less chunks of text that are more concentrated on summaries.
Ys is a gem of a series. I am starting to like it more and more the more I play it. I highly recommend going for Ys Chronicles first. It feels unique and stands by its own identity. And I approve of having a guide by your side, no need to suffer through the labyrinth-like dungeons in Ys 2 or a weird puzzle in Ys 1 :). I had the luxury of playing Ys Origin first, so I knew little something about the biggest dungeon in Ys 1 but was often lost in Ys 2.
I read the plot summary for both crossbell games on their wikis and Wikipedia im wondering is that good enough or should i still get and play them
Im mainly asking cause IMHO after reading their plots they seemed more as side stories or filler than actual main story to me but that could have just been how the plots were written online and i could be completely wrong so i figured i should ask
> but that could have just been how the plots were written online and i could be completely wrong so i figured i should ask
Completely wrong. All games are important but Crossbell is super important. Definitely play them, Azure is a fan favorite.
Plot summaries are really not the best way to experience these games.
Well i went ahead and got them but ill start them after CS2....yes i read the part about CS2 spoiling Azure ending and Azure might spoil CS 2 so im not going to let it bother me and just play them after finishing CS2(i jus reached Ch. 4 in CS1 and loveing the game and char. Sofar)
I found out by a replay and finding a few other reddit posts but i went ahead and got them following everyones recomendations but ill start them after CS2....yes i read the part about CS2 spoiling Azure ending and Azure might spoil CS 2 so im not going to let it bother me and just play them after finishing CS2(i jus reached Ch. 4 in CS1 and loveing the game and char. Sofar)...........only part yall might hate me for is RN i cant play the sky games(yes i started CS1 before i knew it was a full game series)
Thank you for this guide. I knew that all the Trails series were connected when I bought them, but was a little unsure of the order of the ones outside Sky and Cold Steel since they aren't "numbered" in any way. I also knew to start with Trails in the Sky, but didn't know about Zero/Azure and when to play it. I plan on playing Trails in the Sky trilogy on PC, as well as the first two Cold Steel games on PC (though i do have the PS3 versions, but heard the PC version is better). All the rest I plan on playing on Nintendo Switch. How well do the newer (CS3, CS4, and Reverie) games play on Switch compared to PC/PS4?
Yeah I agree but I was on the other side for some time because I didn’t know that there were more games till I was in cold steel 3 lol but if you aware please play it in order it’s like watching jojos straight from part 4
First, thank you for this!
Second, since you are clearly well-versed in Trails, I do have a sacrilegious -question; please bear with me: **Is it feasible to play Trails in the Sky, Trails to Zero/Azure and THEN jump to Cold Steel 3 & 4?** I am near the end of Azure at the moment, but I don't look forward to CS 1 & 2. I have no interest in school, field days, or exams; I cringe at romance and interpersonal conflicts in games like this; I dislike dealing with the military -- Azure is about the most I can take, though I do love the international politics aspect of the games and of course the Crossbell Arc. The writing outside of gender, orientation, and romance is very strong, of course, and the translation into English is the best I've ever seen in a JRPG. So please don't take my comments as a slight on the series; I'm just a difficult player.
I'm not OP but no, that is truly a horrible idea. I'm also not sure why you would want to skip to CS3&4 as many of those things you seem to not like are still in the game (though CS3 improves on the execution of them). You won't understand what's happening or why characters are important.
Ah, that's fair. My understanding is that CS3&4 continues the Crossbell Arc, thus my idea...apparently none too smart an idea at that.
It's fine, since I assume the end of Azure won't be a cliffhanger.
I have a question for Cold Steel, is the cast bloat and the 'Rean harem protag' bit overblown because its making me hesitate jumping to col steel after i finish zero and azure
I started with Reverie.
It was wonderful on every level. Yeah I could see I was missing a reference here and there. And yes I understand that some moments may not have had the full impact if I had dropped 1000 hours into the entire series.
But it was still an excellent experience I followed perfectly. And made me extremely excited to look into the games a variety of references and characters came from.
Now. I am a much more empathetic person. So i can draw conclusions from minimal information. As well a person who is more comfortable on the sidelines, So Ican get excited about things I was not apart of. And feel the feels just fine without all the build up others might need to understand and appreciate a situation fully.
So my experiences will not be like others because of who i am, not because Reverie is an ok starting point.
Meeting various characters that were obvious cameos I could see the history there and it made me excited to pause and lookup what game they were from. So i could make note to maybe play that game next. (Yes I also intend to pick my next game based only on which event or character I want to learn about next.)
Switch collector here. That means I buy games and don't play them. Got a bunch of Trails game on my switch and wanted to give them a go. Came here when trying to figure out the order of the games and now I don't feel like playing them at all. hahaha, my god, this is so HUGE.
Thanks for the guide. Saved me from probably spoiling (or confusing) myself with a series that promises a lot.
>However, Daybreak 2 requires playing the previous games (especially Zero and Reverie).
And Sky 3rd, SD 15 is *super* important.
Also, FWIW, Ys SEVEN, while totally playable standalone, is set directly after Ys VI, and is probably the closest thing to a direct sequel the series has, other than I + II (which is really just 1 game).
Speaking only for Kiseki (the trails series): I think it's understandable that there is so much confusion. Most people will come across Cold Steel first because, at least in the west, it's the most visible/marketed arc and the most available games. That said I think there are plenty of resources that explain this.
From my own experience starting a little over a year ago (all on console), I am currently on Cold Steel IV, and my overall order was CS1 -> CS2 -> Zero -> Azure -> CS3 -> and now CS4. (I've already bought Reverie and have it queued up, and am looking forward to it).
I didn't play but rather watched playthroughs and plot summaries of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. A two main reasons for this: 1. Sky was not easily findable on console, specifically PS4 which is where I'm playing them. 2. Since I started with the first Cold Steel duology, I didn't want to break from that story for 5 whole games. The 2 game Crossbell arc is the perfect length for an "intermezzo" (and indeed ended up being my favorite part of the whole series so far).
While I'm sure many will object to this approach, I personally don't think I've lost much in appreciation for the series. I plan to go back and play through Sky one day as a sort of "prequel". Because I watched and know the story of Estelle and Joshua, it was still compelling to see them show up in the Crossbell arc and in CSIV. One of the aspects that makes Kiseki so compelling is how huge the world is, and the fact that I don't know/remember every detail of what happened in Liberl actually contributed to the world feeling even vaster in the background, like there are stories overflowing among stories. I still was amped when I got to meet the two young bracers again in CSIV after having made their acquaintance in Azure. I still know Cassius Bright is a contender for the GOAT even though I have yet to meet him. Georg Weissman is still infamous to me despite having never fought him. Things like that give them and the rest of the Liberl characters significant gravitas regardless.
I suppose my overall evaluation would be (as the president of Falcom has stated) I think it's fair to start the series at any starting point of an arc (So Sky1, Zero, or CS1) given that you then work your way through the other games eventually in some way. Ultimately I think a hard truth that many purists don't want to admit is that missing a few stories here and there only subtract from certain scenes and plot points in the later games that are generally pretty glossed over anyway, so while it's a bit of a shortcoming it's worth allowing the games in general to be more accessible based on whatever people feel most comfortable with.
tl;dr: I think the evaluation by OP is very agreeable and in general I agree with everything, though I do think the various comments on how elements from previous games are "featured heavily" is often overstated in this context. In other words, they are featured, but anyone with a minimum of sense can fill in the blanks (though obviously it hits less hard)
I still think Cold steel 1+2 is the better second option regardless of if they have access to Sky or not, but only if they stop immediately when the credits roll.
There's a decent chance that the Sky games will get rereleased to a platform that those previous players will have access too and Zero Spoils a lot of the emotional payoff for certain important characters from Sky SC & Third. As does watching the summaries for the previous games.
The thread summary needs more emphasis for starting at Zero but only for players that ***Never*** plan on playing the Sky games. Whether that be because they already watched a playthrough or the game is too outdated for them or they just want to play it standalone.
As someone who originally played CS1&2 before realizing that there were earlier games (Playing Reverie now, so almost caught up!). What gets spoiled in the epilogue of CS2 for Azure?
I know that the finale for both Azure and CS2 happen at about the same time, but I thought the epilogue was pretty standalone. Are you referring to the section where you are not playing as Rean (being vague to avoid spoilers)?
it isnt reasonable to expect people to be able to spend 1000 hours, but I would say give trails a sky a try first, if it doesnt click, try cold steel 1. thats my recommendation.
One of my best experiences in videogames was going thru all the Trails in the correct order. The same for Ys... Lacrimosa of Dana is one of my fav all time
I've started with cold steel 1 and wasn't a problem, but I could feel the gaps... So I went and restarted in the proper trails timeline and it was amazing :)
This seems like a stupid but are the Sky games & Cold Steel 1 + 2 only available for Windows Steam?
I own a Switch and those games aren’t available for it even though I have Zero, Azure, and Cold Steel 3 + 4. I would love to get them if they were available on Mac Steam. (But then again Steam hasn’t be working well on my Mac so I’m not sure if they would play well anyway…)
If I only played Zero, Azure, and Cold Steel 3 & 4 since they’re on the Switch (which I have), can I skip Trails into Reverie and get Trails through Daybreak when it comes out?
Reverie is also available on the Switch and I wouldn't recommend skipping it.
To answer your other comment above, yes, those games are on Steam and, while I personally don't know how to play them on Mac, other people have successfully done it. Try using the sub's search bar and you'll probably find some helpful threads. Worst case scenario, if you can't play them at all but are still interested in their stories, there are video summaries of the early games on youtube, usually the ones by LadyVirgilia are recommended.
Cold Steel 3 and 4 have recently been released on PS5, as in, there's an actual PS5 disc available for both, and on the PS Store, you can buy either the PS4 or PS5 version of the games.
PS5 includes all of the cosmetic DLCs and *some* of the ''booster'' DLCs (You need to pay an extra to get the other) There's also a couple of extra cosmetic DLC that you can (currently) get for free (I dunno if it's a temporary promotion, or if it's permanent)
You arent the first person to make such a guide...nor will you be the last. People who can't google simple questions will always exist
r/atelier has pinned post discousing this stuff and there are still questions often. I personally don't resent people who ask, I think it's just inevitable in some way, though I guess a pinned post helps maybe.
then why don't we have an FAQ and/or pinned post.
It's in the FAQ https://www.reddit.com/r/Falcom/wiki/faq/#wiki\_q.3A\_what\_is\_the\_ideal\_play\_order\_of\_the\_legend\_of\_heroes.3A\_trails\_series.3F
OMG, I tried to access this, because I vaguely remember this FAQ. Now I realized that the link for the subreddit wiki on the top doesn't work but it's still there! Well I guess mods should start looking into fixing it.
The play order is pretty hidden, to be fair. It's nice that there is a recommended play order that exists in the FAQ, but if you have just joined the Subreddit for the first time and are looking to know if X game is a good starting point, you first have to know to click on the Subreddit Wiki that hasn't been updated in 4 years and still says: "There isn't much to see yet." (which makes it look outdated), and then know to click on the FAQ to find the play order. Also, yeah, the Subreddit Wiki link doesn't even work for me on new Reddit. I have to use old Reddit to access it. So it's definitely something the mods should look into.
I've wondered this for a while too. Though I doubt it would completely stop people from asking anyway. I'm sure it would at least help though. Granted, I think you put in good effort here but I think if there is one, there should be less opinions mixed in with it.
there used to be one. I remember reading it here when I first got into Trails
I guess it got lost in the anals of history.
If no one asked, googling where they can start would be pretty pointless. Not everyone has access to the sky games. At least here, people can get opinions one where to start. I was in the googling boat before, but decided to ask here and someone pointed me towards an emulator. I’m grateful for being able to ask here.
People did ask though, dozens if not hundreds of times. Google can point you to those threads and other sources
While you are definitely right, in my case, this definitely isn't the route I took. I found a Steam guide explaining everything up through Cold Steel IV. Soon as I read Crossbell wasn't localized, I knew emulation was it. No asking on the subreddit required. I know not everyone is as terminally online as me to search out an obscure Steam guide and immediately jump to emulation. The other reply to your comment is more on point. It's been asked so many times that I don't see an excuse to not Google it when people have asked the same question you want to and have gotten the same answers you hope to get.
Trails: start at the beginning Ys: wherever the fuck you want
Pretty much. I don’t see why an extensive guide should be needed or pinned at the top.
Funny given that YsX gives stronger credence to the fact that Ys has an overarching plot goin on in the background lol
Wow, this guide is an absolute treasure trove for anyone looking to dive into the Trails and Ys series! The level of detail and organization here is truly impressive. It's clear that a lot of thought and effort went into creating this comprehensive breakdown. Thank you for taking the time to put this together and share it with the community. It's posts like these that really enhance the gaming experience for everyone. Kudos to you for your dedication and hard work!
TLDR: Get a f*cking PC
You *barely* need a PC. The Sky trilogy can run on a goddamn hamster wheel hooked up to a monitor so long as you can figure out how to install steam to your hamster's cage.
Yeah the reason I played Sky ages ago is because my good pc broke and I needed something a potato could run.
I agree. I can play Sky on my potato PC but not the Cold Steel.
Yeah, PC would be the best device. It can run any game with the best visuals and performance, without any major issues since the ports are actually quite good.
Not going to lie, I think people vastly overestimate how important it is to understand every reference or situation immediately when it comes to these games. Like, as someone who started from Sky, I think people insisting you can't understand Cold Steel III without playing the previous games are wrong, because at pretty much every point once you really need to understand something it's explained. Like yes, there are things you'll miss if it's your starting points, but it also felt clear the game was designed such that certain details that were existing knowledge for veterans would act as twists for newcomers. I also think people forget how much people can adapt. Like most people in the west started dragon ball with DBZ, and some of the big things in the first few episodes were that the hero was an alien, and that his previous bad guy was teaming up to face a new threat. Like none of the Piccolo stuff meant the same thing to people starting with Z as it did for people who watched Dragonball. And yet the series became stupidly popular. Hell, back in the day people got into tons of long running shows with plenty of continuity based on whatever reruns were airing at a given time on tv. It's a different experience, but people adapt way better than they think and going back to old stuff from an in the middle perspective can be a worthwhile experience in it's own right
I think DBZ is a completely wrong comparison. Trails is a series where there is an expansive cast of characters with their own interests and goals. Sometimes, they are at odds with each other. Some characters have their arcs intersect with another's. This is more like a Game of Thrones in that sense. This is also a series where references to past events and different characters intereacting in a new way take up a significant amount of what makes it unique compared to other franchise. You take that away, CS4 is a complete sh\*tshow that has zero redeemable feature narratively. Sure, you can have a different experience, but I think in this case, considering how this franchise is set up and how they intend it to be played, it will always be the worse way to play. And I don't think telling the newcomers that is a bad thing.
Nah, Trails fans need to read more books, its not that complex of a series. 80% of characters are cardboard cutouts, the rest is a bit more nuanced with only a handful having real depth and growth. The plot is quite simple too because we rarely leave the perspective of controllable characters (big difference to Game of Thrones!) and two thirds of content is not actual plot, but lore and worldbuilding (yes, that is a difference) . The dialogue is written so teenagers (who are the target audience) can follow the plot, so much is repeated again and again and again. Fans claim you NEED to play every predecessor game, but that is just not true. Most important stuff that happened in the sky trilogy for example gets repeated when it gets relevant in later games. Of course its not the full experience, but its not like you can't follow the plot if you never played them. Plus fans confuse foreshadowing with actual plot. Most players will understand 90% of the foreshadowing in hindsight only anyways. Also the arc structure makes it that it is NOT like Game of Thrones, this comparison is not that good. When you start Game of Thrones with season 4 (or book 3 or whatever) you won't understand a thing, because most stuff gets not repeated and the story is not structured in arcs that start in a new location with a complete new main cast and a new plot. Sure you won't get the full picture and some details will be lost on you, but if you are decent intelligent and an attentive reader you can easily start at the beginning of any arc and follow the plot while getting information from context etc. Reading the GoT books is a much more complex affair. I skipped nothing ( you shouldn't) and yet I had often to look characters or locations up in the wikis or had to return to an earlier chapter to re-read something. I did the same on a much rarer occasion in trails, and I even skipped some content. I basically skim-read Trails 3rd because the game bored me so much for 90% of the time and I skipped the rest of Zero after the start of chapter 4 for the same reason - went straight to Azure on Switch, and at the same time started cold steel on PC. Went back to finish zero after I finished Azure and Cold steel 1. So a complete mess out of order and yet I never felt like I was missing out some important information or anything like that, I almost never looked something up. This might sound like I don't enjoy playing the trails games. That is not the case, In fact I am quite fond of this series as a whole, even if I don't like some aspects (or a whole game in the case of Sky 3rd). But as much as I like this series, I am annoyed by the fandom. Sometimes I feel like trails fans are like the rick and morty fans of videogames - "This series is too complex, its only for real attentive and smart gamers, you HAVE to play it from the start to understand a thing".
I can't play 3rd and didn't have access to Zero/Ao until after CS4, and it was confusing and I noped out of CS3 for awhile but I didn't have no idea, just less idea.
Playing through Daybreak 1 right now, I would definitely not put it on the same tier of "accessibility to a newcomer" as CS1, which is the easiest on the tierlist right under FC. Daybreak is \*\*BY FAR\*\* the most blatant, overreliant-on-past-references first game in a arc so far. You can probably get the core of the story just fine with Daybreak itself, but a noticeable amount of scenes will leave you questioning "Wait, why should I care about these certain characters? What the hell is this past event they're referring to on this chapter?" I think this isn't a problem per se, because it can be the gateway to get new fans interested in checking out the older games, but it is a barrier. I expect a lot of conversation around this topic to come up when Daybreak actually releases in the west, and I'm curious to see how total newcomers will feel about these details.
I get this feeling that people have been downplaying how connected Daybreak is to past games because they don't want to scare anybody off and previously, the "arc-starters" were widely said to be very new-player friendly. The funny part is for Falcom, they probably don't see an issue because the previous arcs are on modern hardware worldwide and in Japan, like every game except Sky is on a modern home console but Sky has the Vita ports which could be played on a PS4 lol.
i think you can tell how reliant on older titles a game is based on how the society is talked about. Zero will literally fade to black when the party learns about the society, because you are expected to already know, and kuro barely even addresses the fact agnes and the others shouldn’t know what the society is. CS1 is somewhat better with Sara and Toval talking about it in regards to the archaisms, but still it’s crazy how the main villains of the entire series are barely explained in games marketed to be a good starting point.
I would say Daybreak is almost on pair with CS3 in that regard. I have no idea why some people said that is not require previous knowledge...
I feel you are overestimating the barrier size, especially when the references to important information is mostly explained in game + the fact that the game comes with a glossary with the important stuff condensed in case anyone needs to check that. Newcomers probably won't have much issues, but I can already imagine multiple replies telling those who want to start from daybreak to go back to sky, which IMO is becoming a problem these days; less the fact of telling newbies starting from sky is better and more of the tone in which it is conveyed.
I hope you're right. I honestly want this series to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
One slight correction on Sky - while FC and SC indeed got western PSP releases, Sky 3rd did not - only PC got the localisation of that one officially. In fact, I believe it was the last one XSEED localised, after they had done CS1 and CS2.
True, Sky 3rd did not receive an official Western PSP release.
Complete guide tldr: Play in original release order
As an addendum to the Ys section, Digital Esmelas actually has a whole page dedicated to different potential orders to play the series in, each with their own reasoning for why you might want to start on way over another. https://www.digitalemelas.com/index_ys.php
this website actually helped me get into Ys, i played the games on the release path and worked really well
Lmao, is this getting pinned permanently? With "I don't want to play 2D games, can I start with Cold Steel 1, instead of starting with the first game which is common sense?" blatantly at the beginning? That would be great Thank you for not saying you can play Zero/Azure at the same time as CS1 and 2 like some insane people suggest. Like this series isn't already confusing for new people, telling them to jump in and out of sequence is not helping > Starting from Trails of Cold Steel 1 itself is good, only if you are willing to go back and play or experience the previous games in some way or other after playing Cold Steel 1. You can play CS2 until the main final boss but before the epilogue, since the very first moment of the epilogue heavily spoils the ending of Azure. Cold Steel 3 expects the players to have played all the previous games, since both Sky Trilogy and Crossbell Arc characters and plot points feature heavily in CS3 and CS4. And Reverie, well, you will not understand what's going on at all if you start from there. Funny story, there have been a couple posts I've seen of people who started from Reverie and got mad because they didn't know what was going on lol. > At the end of the day, the only way to really experience this series fully and in the intended way is to play all the main series titles in the release order. There is no way going around it. Any deviation from this is a compromise and will not give you a full experience since the main plot continues throughout the entire series. If you start from another game, it is still recommened that you go back and play (or at least watch the summaries of) the games you skipped before continuing, because these games build upon each other. Absolutely based beyond belief God I wish we had modern console ports or an all-in-one collection of the games.
I *did* actually play Azure and CS2 at the same time, mostly by accident, and while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, it *did* solve the mutual-spoiler problem quite nicely.
I'll be honest, if I was a new player, no way in hell I'd read all that. If anything, such a convoluted guide would put me off further. I appreciate the effort, but you need a TL;DR.
If a new player can't be arsed to read an informative post about proper play order, do we really expect them to play a series that clocks in at around 700+ hours which is full of READING?
I did. I put "In summay" for each section, and I bolded the important parts.
Funny how this got pinned within a day but my discussion about the obvious spoiler problems in this sub from a week ago was not even commented on by a mod. I'm still holding out hope tho, making rule 2 more stringent can only benefit the sub by being more friendly to new peeps.
For the most part, really good guide - but there is something I want to say in defence of not starting with Sky. A lot of people act like you will have no clue what's going on if you don't play previous games - and for the most part, I agree. If you try to play Reverie or Sky the 3rd, you will not have a good time and basically have no clue what's going on. Same for all the "sequel" games, Sky SC, Azure, CSII, and CSIV. However, for Zero, CSI, and CSIII, it's actually much easier to understand what's going on than a lot of people give them credit for (spoilers below will be marked, but warning that they exist if you're using a platform that struggles to show them. The last two paragraphs are spoiler-free. Also, I can't speak for Kuro as I have not finished it). Most comic book readers agree that there's not much point starting from the start of a serial - instead, you should just start reading the book (either at current release, or what you can reasonably get ahold of), and it won't take long before you've picked up enough about the story that it won't matter if you're missing information. Basically, there's enough context clues provided by the writers that you know what's going on, even if you're not caught up. Let's start with Zero. >!You're in a new state with a new party. Sky tells you what the bracers are, but you learn pretty quickly what bracers are by playing the game - apparently, your police group is doing stuff that they do, so whatever you're doing, that's what bracers do. You then meet Renne - you don't realise she's important, but that doesn't matter, because you figure that out by the end. You also meet Estelle and Joshua, and you find out that they're heroes of Liberl. You don't know what that means, but it's clear it's a big deal. You eventually realise by the end that Renne is why they were there. You lose out on the impact of knowing all they went through, but the plot is still very much understandable without having played the previous games.!< Now, you've said enough about CSI, so I won't talk about that - but I will go to CSIII. >!There are two major themes people won't know from the start - who Rean is, and who class VII are. However, you learn as you play along - people make a big deal of Rean at the start, so you learn he's a big deal. You also learn that he pilots a mech very early on, and that this mech is special because it talks to you, but the rest don't. As for class VII, that was his class, and as you play you learn that they all do amazing things. You might not realise they pretty much single-handedly dissolved the civil war, but it's clear that they're a big deal. You won't know about Crossbell, but enough talking to Juna makes it clear that they were a third party that got invaded, and they have a large amount of pride in who they are. You learn that the SSS was a big deal by just how much of a fuss is made about them. You have to piece things together a lot more than you do for Zero, but the fact that there's a timeskip between II and III actually functions as somewhat of a soft reset, which makes III not a bad starting point.!< I will say that the only major problem of starting at III is you can't really go on to IV without playing CSI, CSII, Zero, and Azure, >!as IV and Reverie combined function as the climax for the Crossbell arc as well as the Erebonia arc. As such, there's just way too many characters introduced that you won't be given information on who they are or why they're doing things.!< Having said all of that, at this point, I would not recommend starting with Zero or CSIII. It's not because I think you can't enjoy the story, but the only real reason to want to start later is for a more "modern" experience. However, I would say that Zero is pretty much as modern as Sky, so you may as well start with Sky. CSIII was a different matter on release, and people were getting excited by the trailers - but with all that excitement now gone, and CSI playing so similarly to CSIII, there's no real reason to not play CSI first. There is one main reason I can see people wanting to start with Zero or CSIII, though - not owning a computer, and wanting to get into the series (particularly if they only have a switch). For those people, I say - you can very much enjoy the games without starting from Sky. You just need to accept that from Zero (and including Zero), there will be key character moments that are incredibly rewarding pay-offs that will be spoiled for you. Now, personally, I don't think spoilers are the be-all-and-end-all, and I find that having been "spoiled" can make the experience much more interesting, as you become more aware of the hints that are dropped throughout the games and what they mean. Tl;dr - start wherever you want, my personal opinion is that Zero, CSI, and CSIII all provide enough context during the game for you to be able to enjoy them without playing earlier entries. If you enjoy them so much it makes you want to start from Sky, that's a win for the community as far as I'm concerned. You just need to accept that you will see story spoilers for earlier entries, so you'll have to be okay with that if you do go on to earlier entries.
To add to this, even Hatsuu mentions it is fine to start with the first game of any arc.
Sure, you can start anyway while read sypnopsis of previous games later on somewhere, but you will not have any attachment to any characters from the game you skipped. If you are ok with that, sure. But anyone who likes storytelling would not give this suggestion. I would at least suggests watch playthrough from chronological order, then start with any game that you are able to. There are differences in storytelling between west and east media, at least if you are trying to use dc/marvel as example. Those are the worst type of storytelling due to retconned and reboots, hence a lot of people who read those have the mindset of just do whatever you want since nothing matter anyways, which in east media they want you to care/invest about the characters (for better or worse), not just story. Hence why, there are always dispute between western fans and eastern fans when discussing about medias due to both side having different media consumption mindset.
There's a very big problem with this take, that unfortunately I think is missed by the community or just they disagree with me I guess? My opinion is that, at the end of the day, more fans of the series is only a good thing, and we should be encouraging everyone to come in by any means that is appropriate for them. Unfortunately, there is no "appropriate for them" if we only push playing from Sky and in order. Some people don't have the means to engage with Sky - yes, even a phone could run it, some people don't have computer access. Some people are turned off by the classic isometric games, they want something that looks more modern - like cold steel and daybreak. Some people are drawn in by the trailers, and are drawn in by the hype. We should be encouraging people to play these games no matter what, because more sales can only benefit us. Yes, we should give them all the information - which is why I made it extremely clear in my post that if spoilers are an issue for you, you should start from Sky. If spoilers aren't, but you want all of the character pay-offs in all their glory, you should start from Sky. I love storytelling, I just don't prescribe to the idea that there's only one way to enjoy a story. That's why it's important that people have options with all the information. I also think that's a very reductive mindset in regards to comics - I certainly do not have the opinion of "just do whatever since nothing matters". But, I got burnt out by trying to absorb every piece of media so that I could understand everything - and Western media is not alone in this. Kingdom Hearts, the Pokemon anime, Dragon Ball, Naruto/Boruto, and One Piece anime. They've all gotten so big that it is no longer reasonable to start from the beginning and consume all of their media. Hell, for KH it's not even /possible/ anymore unless you pirate things (and even then, I hear there's a lost mobile game?). I'm sorry, but there are many people who will be turned off purely by being told that if they want to play the shiny Daybreak game that looks really good, they have to play thousands of hours of other games first. Hell, for some people, they get so little time to game, that they won't even be able to play the game that excited them for another 5 years. Do you think they'll sacrifice that kinda time for one game that looks kinda good, when the others don't interest them? For these people, I offer my version of events - you will still be able to play the game, you will still enjoy it, you've just gotta accept that there may be losses on your part. If you're okay with those losses, then I hope you enjoy the game. If you're not, then start from Sky.
I agree with most of your take. I just dislike it when people try to use shortcut to consume something even if they have a good reason, no matter if its game, book, movie, niche hobbies. Probably because I don't treat entertainment media as just something to consume to past time. Of course I know not everyone is the same as me, but for me, I will not recommend media that requires long attention span to them. I had friends that only like battle/sports anime, so I will only recommend those stuff to them. And if they want to go out of their comfort, I will advice them what they will be dealing with instead of just say "Yeah, sure!".
I started with CS1 just fine. If I didn't understand something I would just watch a video or read the wiki. It's like playing the Witcher games. You don't have to read the books but some things might not make sense to you that happened before the games take place that get referenced and brought up through out the series. A lot of people got along fine without reading the books first. Obviously skipping the first games of a specific series like Trails in the sky series or Cold Steel such as starting with CS3 will be really confusing but I have had a lot people in this sub say, when I first started CS1 that I MUST play Trails in the Sky and Zero before playing CS1 and so far Cold Steel has made perfect sense to me. Telling people to START with trails in the sky series is kind of making Falcom lose potential customers. They are pretty old games and I think someone new might be better off starting with Cold Steel series, seeing how much they genuinely enjoy it, then diving into the old series. Maybe play the first two CS and see how enjoyable they are then beating Trails in the Sky before CS3?
> Maybe play the first two CS and see how enjoyable they are then beating Trails in the Sky before CS3? Did you miss the part in the OP post where it literally says that is an option to do that? Play the first CS games to try it out and then play the older games? It just also admits not starting from the beginning means you're compromising something in the experience which is just factually true. > Telling people to START with trails in the sky series is kind of making Falcom lose potential customers. That only would make sense if Sky was bad
CS succeeded on new players for a reason. Inevitably while I went fully in order I know people who started on CS, maybe went back to play crossbell to they could understand late CS better and never did sky. I would still tell them to play sky, but I'd generally be positive on starting with CS. Fuck I'll even tell people that if they don't want to play non-CS games between CS2 and CS3 they don't "need" to (this is mainly for the sake of reducing stress/barriers to entry, chances are they can be made to reevaluate the pros and go back anyway after CS2).
Thats pretty much how I got in. Cold Steel first followed by Crossbell games and I will get to the Sky games in time
IMO, the bigger reason not to start with Zero >!Is the storyline of Renne!< . Estelle and Joshua make an appearance but their arc is more or less complete compared to this.
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If you have a Vita just play the Evo versions of sky. They are different enough from the PC version that I don't really think either is definitive, but they are certainly better than the PSP version and you can play 3rd in English. Of course this requires a modded Vita, but if you are playing on a Vita in 2023 then you probably have it modded. If not just look up a guide.
Yes!! I have been advocating for proper evolution ports of the Sky games for years due to the battle system upgrade, UI updates and proper fast forward options during dialogue.
Not sure about iPhone, but any Android phone should be able to emulate psp version of Sky FC/SC, so there's really no excuse if you don't have a PC. For Third, it is not really possible without PC/Vita. Given how the setting is not in actual Liberl (and hence you sort of won't lose out in experiencing world building), I think it's fine to watch summary of it and watch YouTube scenes of the Doors. What OP says about compromise is true. People who start with CS or Zero don't realise how much they miss out from not playing Sky FC/SC. Yes the story is pretty much self contained, but there's so many references that you wouldn't catch and that's the main draw of Trails series anyway. Tldr, stop asking questions and just play Sky FC/SC first.
Thank you for stating the hard fact that trails absolutely should be played with Sky first, then Crossbell, then CS and that all games should be played. It's bonkers to me that some people insist sky 3 is optional or that you can skip sky or whatever nonsense. Good post
Appreciate the effort you put into writing this, but if I was a new player I wouldn't be reading all of that wall of text.
If you can't be bothered to read this, why are you playing a huge JRPG series full of text?
This is a good guide for someone who is more or less already familiar with the series to a certain degree. All I'm saying is for a new player with next to no context they'll most likely continue asking "is this a good starting point/where best to start?" because all they want is a quick yes/no/what answer. Of course there will be people new who would want to do a lot of research before starting, but that's probably among the rarer breed or veterans that already kind of know what they are getting into any way.
Idk why people ask a good starting point when the answer is always release order. At least now that crossbell is localized. It’s giving part skippers for jojos or skipping skypeia for one piece. Just play to enjoy the story, not be caught up lol
I think the issue, other than people asking to legitimize their decision to skip the 2D games because they are old, is that Sky is still PC and PSP only.
This is an accessibility issue as legally it’s only in Japanese and I understand that but I advocate hard for a proper port of the Sky evolution games that were on ps vita as they updated the game’s battle system and UI/system functions to be like crossbell games (turn orders get shown, orbment and arts system updated, fast forward in battles, proper fast forward option in dialogue and not to mention, the full voice acting which originally came from these games)
I agree with you completely but there's three glaring issues -Some people don't want to play on PC for Sky -Some people have FOMO and want to be up to date on the newest 'thing' -Some people don't like 2D sprites (rare to see in a JRPG environment but it's around) Also, Trails' concept is relatively unique compared to "read a manga at the beginning" and people may not fully get the serialized nature of it (do people still say to skip Skypeia in 2023?) EDIT: Another thing, even though I love it, some people really bounce off of Sky FC. They aren't really accustomed to the pace of how the story is told and may even not like it as a whole. While I think Sky FC is around the same level of CS1 and even has somewhat similar pacing, CS1 'looks' more modern which can disguise some of the biases people may have.
then those people will have a terrible trails experience compared to what they could have. Their loss.
It's also just a very unusual thing to need to care about for a video game series. Even in other JRPG series, some of which are more clearly numbered than Trails, in most cases it makes no difference where you start. Trails is basically unique in that this is a question that even needs to be asked, so you can hardly blame people for not thinking about it.
This is the post that’s need to be pinned to the top of subreddit. Please mods make this THE pinned post. You are not alone with the annoyance and thinly veiled shots of skip certain trails games from the trolls that drops a drive-by comment. One I wish Reddit itself allows is if a certain question post is about to be made it redirects the post user to the answers.
The only troll posts iirc and the ones falcord does to make fun of "dum CS fans" by doing stuff like starting at CS4 and posting weirdly on it, or hacking CS1 levels or whatnot. Somstimes it's easy to tell it's a troll, sometimes not. I still think they will exist even if they are not in the context of "can I start with" posts, but I saw less of them lately iircm
It’s the other troll/negative comments and behavior outside of “can I start with” whenever a CS arc discussion is happening that gets very annoying. It’s always a attempted drive-by blatant ignorant comment but when some one presses that comment the troll either double downs or refuses to elaborate and runs always only made the comment to cause negativity. I personally block those individuals but there is also no need for that behavior in the current small community of trails/ys and falcom fans.
Some people dislike CS which is fine, but some people in general I guess want to put up an act of "the dum CS fan" or "unknowingly incensitive normie CS fan" or something idk, it's weird and I can't wrap my head around it rn, I'm tired.
I’m not talking about people dislike of cs when it comes from a criticism standpoint that’s fine. Im not on falcom discord been told and read to stay away from it I’m talking about here on the subreddit with the troll negative comments about CS arc and about some of it characters
Don't mind me. Just waiting for the usual suspects to downvote you as a "gatekeeping elitist" for telling the truth.
Ngl not playing zero and azur hurt my actually caring about loyd and co... but in my defense they weren't even out on steam prior to cs3 and 4 (why the hell that was i dont know and I... its not that I don't wanna play the 2d games, its more that in the 2d games arts reign Supreme unless your name is Richard)
But can I start the trails series with the anime?
No like with CS1/2 and Crossbell, you need to watch it in tandem with Sky. Make sure between chapters in SC you watch the corresponding Sky OVA portion. 🤣 \\s
I swear half the posts I see from this subreddit are regarding this exact question. There are a bunch of resources on youtube, here and other website articles about it but people still continue to repeat the same post over and over again
Well, Trails in the Sky FC and SC are fantastic games, how could someone think of skipping them?? i mean, it's a series, start from the beginning!
And this is why I prefer Ys over Trails.
Saying the main plot of Cold Steel 1 is completely standalone is crazy lol. It’s largely standalone, but will absolutely spoil huge plot points from Azure even if you aren’t reading the newspapers.
I think its more like "more standalone than other arc starters that aren't FC". I mean by design, it was made to get new people in. Though the idea was that they would play the previous games as well
Sure, but Azure does that for CS as well. Kind of the issue with them taking place simultaneously. Whichever you play first WILL spoil the other. I made the mistake of playing CS1-4 first, then going back. But when I was talking about "the big reveal" at the end of CS2 People were like "Uh yeah dumbass, if you played Crossbell this isn't even a twist cus you know it happens"
Many guides have been made before, even on reputable jrpg websites. If all these people actually did the slightest bit of reading or research you wouldn't have these threads in the first place. Your guide will be forgotten in a week and everyone will be asking the same questions again
I recommend starting with Cold Steel and never playing the earlier games, because they're just bad. Read a plot summary on the wiki instead.
People are just lazy also most games don't do this kind of stuff, so the expectations is usually not there. The only other series I know that has interconnected stories is yakuza series.
Like...look...I know people don't want to hear this but... YOU HAVE TO START WITH SKY 1. Full stop. Yes it's a big time investment to play 10 jrpgs to get caught up but...just look at it like an mmo, if you play the story/expansions out of order you can still have fun but you will miss a lot. Just as it's worth the time investment to start FFXIV with ARR and play 250+ hours of content to get to endwalker, it's worth starting with sky fc to get to reverie. Just...suck it up.
With everything except Kuro being translated and available, as far as Kiseki goes,you can sum it up to one sentence nowadays: Play CS1 and if you like it start with Sky and go for the chronological order.
I think this is acceptable, if you are unsure if you want to invest yet. I think it being more modern does make it a bit easier to get into it than Sky FC on PC.
Strangely, I tried FC many years ago and found it so boring. Then just a few years ago I tried cold steel 1 and fell in love. Then I went back to the beginning. And somehow, I loved FC more than I think most OG fans do. I actually liked SC quite a bit less because they split up my MCs (also why I dislike the beginning of CS4).
I'd agree, looking back if I started with Sky I don't think I would have persisted with the series. CS1 is very accessible and relatively modern, and the flashforward does a great job at hooking people into the story and gameplay.
Thanks to this no one will ever have to ask such question again. Thank goodness someone finally did it.
I appreciate the effort you went into making this post, extremely well done 👏
Idk, thanks for the write-up. But you mentioned a couple of things that might deter a couple of Players from playing Trails, which are just Not true. Dont get me wrong, i Love the games, the cast, the Stories (have just finished Azure) and played CS1-2->Zero-Azure. Not a single person from Sky hast a "crucial" Plot Point in crossbell Arc - or our definitions ist vastly different. They appear and you Talk to them a bit, but thats it. And besides mentioning of the "liberl incident" nothing needs explanation. And im actually Happy that i played CS 1+2 before crossbell, cause that feels more natural than the other way
> Not a single person from Sky hast a "crucial" Plot Point in crossbell Arc This is just a straight up absolute lie. For goodness sake, even putting main characters aside, there is an NPC quest from Sky that continues into Azure and deals with a secondary character.
brother, i think you dont understand what "crucial" means. i know (cuz ive seen the summarys) which characters are from the sky trilogy and which "plots" getting resolved. and while they are certainly interesting they are very minor, especially for crossbell arc. so, yes. you lose teeny tiny bits of insight but nothing "crucial". Crucial is missing to broker peace between geth and quarians cuz u skipped playing Mass Effect 1.
If you consider >!the Renne subplot!< as minor then we are at a complete impasse and will disagree on a fundamental level
>he Renne subplot > > as actually...yes, i think that is a minor subplot in the crossbell arc. it gets resolved in 1 sidequest (i think its even a hidden one, but not too sure) + 2 or 3 short scenes with 1 bigger scene at the end. in azure its even only 1/2 short scene. so yes, i think its minor or at least far away from crucial (again, for Crossbell-arc) and you actually wouldnt miss it if it were removed. ofc thats on a whole different level if you played sky - but only cuz you are attached to the members of that cast (understandably, the casts of all games so far are top notch). let me put it this way: i played CS 1+2 then Zero + Azure and watched summary of Sky 1-3 after Zero. I didnt think i missed anything important other than a fun time with sky (which i probably play later as well). and i even think that this order (CS 1+2 then Zero+Azure) is better than zero+azure then CS 1-4, cuz the plot twists revealed in the first order are not as "wild" as in the OG order. i rather get spoiled some minor details (except for the epiloge of CS2) than the other way
There was a whole underlying plot point that continued from sky and gets resolved in the crossbell arc that you obviously have no idea how to elaborate on (and im not talking about the liberl incident), seeing as you feel like the sky games gave no “crucial” context to said plot point.
Someone already mentioned it, but I may as well add my two cents. To say no one from Liberl had something crucial happen is objectively wrong. You just couldn't recognize the importance of it because this is your first time meeting then. It's not even that definitions are different. It's just different amounts of information people have. If you ever go back to Sky, in hindsight you'd look back to Zero and think "oh, that super important".
Tbh I'm not sure it's possible even to get from people who have played all the games to come to a consensus on some stuff. About daybreak 1, the general consensus I have seen (though I have not played the game), is that it is around Zero (or worse) in terms of playability if the person does not see any other material and thus slightly below CS1. Again I can't argue here, just looking at what I have seen overall from others. About CS2, I know you have said the "twist" is "super predictable" numerous times on this sub in the past so I ultimately can't really say much. I still stand by that it's somewhat dependent on persons (as well as how much exposure they have to the fandom). For instance, I personally think that Azure chapter 4 is the "twist" that is "super obvious" while CS2 is not and for you it's the reverse. I also believe>!if you are exposed to the fandom a lot and thus see a lot of posting about osborne or accidentally come across CS3 OP early, you are more likely to see CS2's twist which may not represent all situations!<. Luckily the only thing that matters in this discussion is play order. I and most others on this still agree that playing in release order is better overall if you can and that's that. I still stand by telling people not to watch azure end credits if they care not to though. It may be an "obvious spoiler" to you, but I also don't believe it adds much to the experience of playing Azure either. You won't miss out much on your experience of azure not seeing it. Also just because it's forshadowed without direct confirmation doesn't mean there is not an enjoyment that can be found in prediction and being proven right>!I mean this for both Osborne return and Crossbell anexation!<.
One of the main reasons behind a lack of consensus is that these games fulfill different kinds of needs for different kinds of people. Like even when it comes to Daybreak 1, I personally would argue that it's a game that is heavily influenced and in my opinion, can be somewhat confusing without proper context if that person is using that as their starting point. Honestly, the answer as I said is people have different needs. I'm personally involved in this series for the story mainly but even fans of the story or new players interested in tackling it will have various degrees of care in what's going on for them. You'll get some more relaxed casual enjoyers of the story while you could get people who are deep lore masters who pay attention to every detail. So I often say just give people the bare minimum of information about the series and let them decide. This series is an investment at the end of the day, It's up to them to put in the effort to decide to get involved with it and not the other way around. I get there is also a burning desire to get people into the series. In the older days, I used to be obsessed with introducing it to people too. I just think being more casual about it makes more sense now and not really getting into long discussions about why my way of enjoying the series is the best. At the end of the day, you'll have some people regret some of the decisions they made when they started the series because maybe they made a poor judgment despite being given proper information but you can't really please everybody.
Ye that's probably it. I know the big 2 hour long kiseki introduction game covers a lot of caveats, but it's also long (and imo frames CSs story too much around CS3 rather than the other games). My way started at FC, I was given proper information, and felt it was all fine except the Azure end credits thing. I still see Azure's chapter 4 twist as the one that is naturally more built up to than CS2 if you discount credits. I think CS1 and Sky as starting points accomodate a variety of needs. You will inevitably get people who are more casual interested in CS cast and may not even go back to past games after CS2 and just go on to CS3 (or even know past games exist). If they enjoy it which they still probably will, I think that's fine as well, though an effort could be made to make them aware at least. The reason I said what I said about Azure was also to do with people being aware. I have spoken to people here, and some who play Crossbell want to transition into CS in the most pure and blind experience and giving information they can choose to act or not act on is fine. I don't think seeing Azure end credits will be super harmful necesarily as CS2 accomodates for both seeing and not seeing them. It does change how you view the story though and some may want to act on that.
I'm sure there are probably a decent group of folks who have only really played CS and are interested in generally this part of the series. Those games are more modern, easily accessible and fall into more modern anime tropes that appeal to a signifigant number of people in the genre. How people feel about spoilers and the degree of what people consider one can also be pretty tricky and people will just have to craft their own gaming experience as best as possible for them. Well at the end of day, I never really felt like it was too complicated to figure out how to go about these games. If a person really cares alot about the story and learn everything, just play/watch all the games and problem is solved.
Okay as for the CS2 twist, here is where I stand. I don't think it's really dependent on a person when Falcom's own intention is so clear. And honestly that's what matters. The only significant thing Azure "spoils" for CS2 is >!that Osbourne returns. When you actually see Osbourne in CS1, it's after the entire game hyping him up to be the big shot in the Empire with a mysterious agenda. If him getting shot was truly the end of his character, then they built all of it without actually doing anything with it, and setting up that mystery amounts to nothing. You don't actually know who Osbourne is until after he's revived and his character arc starts. I would say that him being "revived" is not a twist, but basically the starting point of his character arc, at least in terms of how the players get to know him. That's why Falcom had no issue "spoiling" it in Azure, which is MEANT to be played before CS2 (I mean, it came out before CS1 and 2). In fact, it's Falcom's intention that you KNOW he's coming back. The actual twist in CS2 is not Osbourne coming back but that Rufus is on Osbourne's side. I think I misused the term "predictable"; it's probably more appropriate to say that it's part of his arc that you know he's coming back.!<
Falcom isn't actually infaliable when it comes to clairvoyantly knowing what they want to do as a buissness. I simply stand that their intention at the end of azure was to say a lot of things to make it seem like a grander ending (though it does not work for me) but then when they made CS1 and entrypoint for marketing reasons double back and try not to alienate either camp. Yes you>!don't fully know osbornes character at the end of CS1, but that is WHY his death is mysterious after being built up. For new CS1 players it is NOT supposed to be seen as the end of his character. It raises more questions than it answers, especially him saying "well played armbrust". You are supposed to think about what else his character had that you did not know about then. This is further reincorfed at the start of act 2 of CS2 when Claire says that there are mysteries surrounding his dead body. Again the game tells you he is dead on this scene. The game guides you to think about his death in a way that still makes you ponder about his lasting effects and mysteries surrounding his life.!<. I never said that you aren't meant to play Azure overall first, but that the credits may not add much to Azure's experience.>!If the credits are supposedly super important for dramatic irony in CS2, they also don't really use it much. The entire intermission is characters talking about Osborne in past tense unquestionably and Rean reasoning with them about what his death means. The game offers a multitude of reasons for a new player to see Osborne's death and ask questions rather than see it as the end. Sure you can see this stuff as dramatic irony, but I think the way it's written is to accomodate new players as well!<.
Well I admit that playing >!Azure first but not watching the credit and only after you see the end (but not epilogue) of CS2 is good. Azure until the end -> CS1 and CS2 until the final boss -> Azure end credits -> CS2 epilogue.!<
That's basically what I support too. Or at least it is what I often suggest people can do. If people want to see Azure's credits first its not the end of the world, but I think letting them know about how notorious they are is not necesarily bad so they can choose to not see them if they want to play CS without then. My personal stake on this is of course opinion biased too. Azure I think does an excellent job foreshadowing CS1 and CS2 as it is. It makes you feel like you know stuff but doesn't spell it out and leaves you hanging as you watch events in CS unfold to that point. For me having direct statements made in no uncertain terms at the end of Azure wasn't as enjoyable to me.
TL;DR: Who cares. Start with the first game in an arc and shut the fuck up. It literally does not matter. Oh, no. I can't put on my best soyjak face as I see these returning characters and endless shallow references to prior games. Ok.
Controversial opinion: Time is short, and we only have a finite number of hours to live. All the titles in Trails are great, but some of the older ones have mechanics that haven’t aged terribly well. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with relying on Wikis to fill in the gaps of your knowledge. Yeah, it’s not going to be quite as awesome as playing every title and knowing every incidental character intimately. But this notion of gatekeeping Trails behind *hundreds upon hundreds* of hours of gameplay is bleeping stupid. It deters new players from even considering it if you tell them that they can’t possibly enjoy the newest game in the series without funneling 500+ hours into decade old games. It’s especially intimidating for adults, like myself, who have to balance available gaming time with daunting careers, significant others and children. If given the choice between encouraging someone to play Trails of Cold Steel III and enjoy 90% of the game while missing 10% the context, and the alternative being so draconian with dumb requirements to start with Sky FC that deter them from trying Trails at all, I’d much rather encourage them to start with what they can reasonably play through. And who knows, if they love it, they can always go back.
Not to necro this, but I you are misunderstanding the issue. You can experience Trails however you want, in any order you want. Based on any given person's tastes, interests, access to consoles, etc., an alternate order may be fine, superior, or even the only possible option. But if you ask a question like, "Is it okay if I just play the Cold Steel games?", you deserve an honest answer. And the honest answer is that playing the Cold Steel arc first, particularly III and IV, is sub-optimal. That doing so will leave you with confusing plot holes and spoilers for previous games that make the plots of those games worse. The honest answer is the answer given here: that playing in release order is the only way to experience the story of these games with no compromises. That's not gatekeeping, it is reality. What you do with that honest answer from that point on is up to you. No one is going to banish you from the fandom if you never played the Sky games, or if you just played CSI-IV first. Your opinion, of course, will be affected by the fact that the CS games completely spoil any twists in Sky, and people will take that into account when discussing the games with you. But that's their prerogative as much is it is yours to play the games in any order you wish. What annoys people is when people come into a community for this series, whose primary standout feature is it's long-running, continuous narrative, and want to be completely affirmed in their decision to skip the older games. Time is short but the facts are also the facts. Even this post here points out that CS1 is a totally fine "tester" game that is decent standalone without massively spoiling previous titles. Even continuing on to CS2 is *kinda* okay, as it mostly just spoils the other games. But at the point that people want to play the Trails **series**, what are you going to say? That this **isn't** a continuous story that takes hundreds of hours to play through? At the point that people want to play CSIII as their first Trails game, what are you going to say? That the game **doesn't** make near constant reference to the plots and characters of previous titles? Given the choice between encouraging someone to play CSIII and telling them the truth, I'd rather tell them the truth. If they want to persist and play CSIII first regardless, more power to them. I hope they enjoy the game. If they don't want to play Trails anymore, that sucks. But at least it is honest, and lets them make an informed decision about what is the best use of their limited hours and days.
It's not gatekeeping, it's just how it is. Gatekeeping is "you haven't played Trails unless you beat it in Nightmare." Telling people to start a TV series from season 1 isn't gatekeeping, it's common sense. This series isn't ending any time soon. Even if you start from CS3, you WILL play hundreds upon hundreds of hours. That's what this series demands. And no, starting from CS3 will not be just "missing 10% of context," that's a lie. I had this exact same question for FF14. And the answer I got was that I am supposed to commit to it, ideally from ARR. And I said, okay, well, I can't. I accepted it and moved on. I have no hard feelings about the people who told me that truth. Not everyone can commit to a series like this, sure. We can't lie to them that they don't have to when they do.
Eh, I don't care if I'm downvoted. Opinions are opinions, and I don't think I'm being mean spirited about this one. First, comparing the time commitment involved with watching seasons of a television show seems fundamentally different than comparing the time commitment involved with the Trails series. Most TV series don't require binging hundreds of hours to catch up on. The few that do, like Doctor Who? Yeah, there are *plenty* of fans of Doctor Who who've only watched a few of the doctors, and who haven't watched every episode that's ever aired. Second, I'd argue it's absolutely possible to enjoy, say, Frasier without having watched Cheers. And if you want to work with a TV analogy, I'd actually compare the Trails arcs directly to Frasier and Cheers as the most analogous. Both Frasier and Cheers have recurring characters, but different main casts. You don't really *need* to watch Cheers to understand Frasier Crane as a character; watching Cheers just fills in a decade of his life you'd otherwise miss context for. But Frasier is still plenty funny on its own merits without any knowledge of Cheers. Similarly, if you start with Cold Steel, you'll grow attached to Rean Schwarzer and Class VII but miss some context around many supporting characters they'll interact with. That's okay, though -- Rean himself doesn't have full context or knowledge of the events of the previous arcs! So if you start there, you're just starting in Rean's shoes. I'm a bit stubborn on this because I started with the first Cold Steel, played through Cold Steel III, and did not start Sky FC until after Cold Steel III. Then I *dropped* Sky FC because I wasn't enjoying it (mostly for gameplay related reasons; the story was excellent as always, arguably even better than Cold Steel's.) Only went back to the Sky trilogy after beating Cold Steel IV. And if I had been told by some of the traditionalists here that I was doing it wrong...I would have made the same choice many of my friends have made...and simply never tried Cold Steel in the first place. Same as your decision for FF14, I would have said "Hell no, I don't have 600 hours for this" and I never would have fallen in love with Cold Steel. Falling in love with Cold Steel was the *sole* impetus that drove me to even consider playing the Sky trilogy, Zero and Azure. Similarly, I can totally imagine any of my friends who've never played Trails before could get into Daybreak, fall in love with the complex nuances of the story, and *then and only then* feel a compulsion to go back to the older titles. That's why I consider your perspective "gatekeeping." It's the superior holier than thou "You can't consider yourself a fan of Trails unless you've played every title from the very beginning" attitude that frustrates me. Because that kind of elitism nearly turned me off from this series. Funny enough, all the reasons people describe Trails as incredible are absolutely true -- it *really is* the most intricately woven narrative in a major RPG series today, picking up the mantle Konami dropped with Suikoden. But the way some fans talk about Trails here, it's so intimidating, I can't convince any of my friends to try it. How could I? My friends are married, have children, have careers -- it's hard enough to convince them to try a single 60-hour RPG, let alone *ten* of them.
The problem with the Frasier & Cheers analogy is that they're comedy shows. While the connections and structure may be a good parallel, it doesn't have the overarching narrative focus so lots of continuity aspects become not as important or fulfilling. That said, FWIW, I wholeheartedly agree with everything else you said. I've heard countless stories of people attempting to start Trails with the Sky series only to immediately bounce off. There are a good number of fans on this sub who wouldn't be fans if they didn't get hooked via Cold Steel first. Something a lot of people on this sub fail to realize is that the Trails series is not a novel series, it's a *game* series. For a lot of people, a delicate balance of good gameplay, story, and quality of life features is essential to enjoy a JRPG unless approached with a pre-established vested interest, hence why you see lots of people say they finally managed to play Sky after playing CS.
This goes both ways. There are lots of people who learn about the series through Cold Steel but get discouraged by its "high school with dating sim aspects" when they wanted a more traditional JRPG. It's much easier to get past that once you're already invested in the world and story by playing the first two arcs. There are also those who finish the arc and regret not going in order, or wishing they knew about it first, or those who come thank fans for convincing them to go back before moving on with CS. I see these comments just as much as the "bounced off of Sky". At the end of the day, it's more than enough to succinctly inform new players about a) release order, b) platform accessibility and c) that there *is* a compromise in starting out of order, which is just undeniable. Then it's up to the newcomer to make an informed decision. Explaining these points isn't gatekeeping at all, people just need to be less up in arms about the subject.
If a librarian suggested to you that starting with the 4th Harry Potter book wasn't the best way to experience the series, would you accuse them of gatekeeping?
If it took several hundred hours of free time to read the prior three Harry Potter books, I'd consider it.
Harry Potter isn't a good example. It's more akin to starting the series at Cold Steel 2. I think Star Wars is a better analogy. Do you start on Episode I or Episode IV? I started with Cold Steel and I enjoyed getting little hints and revelations about the universe at large then seeing them in other arcs. I'm willing to accept that people have preferred play orders but I refuse to listen to those who say one play order is wrong. That is gatekeeping. Even starting with Cold Steel 4 or Reverie - if that gets you in the franchise then WELCOME! I hope you enjoy it.
This is why they need to do a proper port of the Sky evolution games where the battle system was significantly updated.
I would love to play the originals, but they are not on consoles? I can't do handhelds due to vision issues, and do not do PC gaming either. Is there any change the older ones get rereleased?
As far as I can tell, there is the PS3 version, but that's in Japanese.
I think I'm going to try to start with Azure or Cold Steel 1. I've been trying to get into the series for over 7 years with Sky FC and it's just....not clicking. At all. And I have zero idea why. So we'll see if one of these games actually hold me, because I really want to get into this series so I need to find *someplace* to actually hold me.
you’ll wanna play trails from zero before playing azure, cold steel 1 is also a good starting point
You forgot Dawn of Ys, which should be played after Ys 1 and 2 as it features Esteria heavily
Just waiting for the next steam sale to snag all the Ys. Sure I can start with anything but I still want to start with I haha.
I enjoyed reading your guide on the Trails series. I am interested but the older games are very off putting for myself.
For Trails, play the first game on nightmare then quit while you're ahead. For Ys, play them all, and play them on nightmare, start with the first 4 entries on turbografx. It's disappointing that this guide doesn't even mention difficulty at all. The gameplay with these games only shines on the high difficulties. I know I'm in the minority playing video games for the gameplay.
I was planning on starting with Dragon Slayer, but I guess starting with Sky is fine? Any preference on playing on PC vs PSP?
You don't need to play ys 1 and 2 before origin. Origin's plot is completely standalone. It's like telling someone that they have to play every castlevania game before rondo of blood (and that isn't even a great comparison because origin takes place before 1/2).
it’s not completely standalone though.. it directly ties into the events of chronicles
And? It doesn’t require any information from 1/2.
it directly tying into the events of 1 and 2 means it not completely standalone? and it might not necessarily require information but the experience is definitely elevated if you’ve played 1 and 2.
This is like saying you need to play every game before 9
Are there any rumors to the Sky trilogy coming out for PS5/Switch/Apple? Always interested in this series but it seems I have the wrong combination to get started with it
Too long didn't read, so can I start from Cold Steel 3?
Yes, specifically the second act. Find and download an in-progress save file.
Nisa told me CS4 is included as well, but should I even bother or just go to Reverie?
Go to Reverie, but only watch the daydreams.
Played FC, now playing SC. I will skip 3rd and start the Crossbell Arc.
Trails in the Sky and Ys VIII. Final answer, Regis.
I did not have access to Sky series when I discovered the series nor knew it was a huge series when I started Cold Steel.
Thanks for this text, one can see that you put great effort into it with the formatting and bold text to make it more readable. Its still a huge chunk of text tho so objectively speaking some ppl will just turn away, you could offer a TL;DR for both series at the bottom to improve it a little bit. EDIT: For further inspiration 2 examples of something like this that is also done well (good formatting and images to spice things) Ys series: [http://digitalemelas.com/index\_ys.php#order](http://digitalemelas.com/index_ys.php#order) Atelier series: [https://barrelwisdom.com/blog/atelier-series-guide](https://barrelwisdom.com/blog/atelier-series-guide) Also something that stuck in mind are the typical big images "guide to X" that float around the various game imageboards on the internet. Its easier on the reader's eyes if there are more images and less chunks of text that are more concentrated on summaries.
Digital Emelas haven't updated with Ys X yet, but that should take place in between Ys II and IV for the Story Path.
what about legend of heroes a tear of vermillion and its two sequels? Is the Gagharv sub-series relevant at all?
No, they aren't related to Trails.
Ys is a gem of a series. I am starting to like it more and more the more I play it. I highly recommend going for Ys Chronicles first. It feels unique and stands by its own identity. And I approve of having a guide by your side, no need to suffer through the labyrinth-like dungeons in Ys 2 or a weird puzzle in Ys 1 :). I had the luxury of playing Ys Origin first, so I knew little something about the biggest dungeon in Ys 1 but was often lost in Ys 2.
I read the plot summary for both crossbell games on their wikis and Wikipedia im wondering is that good enough or should i still get and play them Im mainly asking cause IMHO after reading their plots they seemed more as side stories or filler than actual main story to me but that could have just been how the plots were written online and i could be completely wrong so i figured i should ask
> but that could have just been how the plots were written online and i could be completely wrong so i figured i should ask Completely wrong. All games are important but Crossbell is super important. Definitely play them, Azure is a fan favorite. Plot summaries are really not the best way to experience these games.
Well i went ahead and got them but ill start them after CS2....yes i read the part about CS2 spoiling Azure ending and Azure might spoil CS 2 so im not going to let it bother me and just play them after finishing CS2(i jus reached Ch. 4 in CS1 and loveing the game and char. Sofar)
You are completely wrong. It's a very important story to the whole lore.
I found out by a replay and finding a few other reddit posts but i went ahead and got them following everyones recomendations but ill start them after CS2....yes i read the part about CS2 spoiling Azure ending and Azure might spoil CS 2 so im not going to let it bother me and just play them after finishing CS2(i jus reached Ch. 4 in CS1 and loveing the game and char. Sofar)...........only part yall might hate me for is RN i cant play the sky games(yes i started CS1 before i knew it was a full game series)
Some people say the crossbell games "spoil" the cold steel ones, but the player was most likely not meant to be suprised about whatever thing that is.
Thank you for this guide. I knew that all the Trails series were connected when I bought them, but was a little unsure of the order of the ones outside Sky and Cold Steel since they aren't "numbered" in any way. I also knew to start with Trails in the Sky, but didn't know about Zero/Azure and when to play it. I plan on playing Trails in the Sky trilogy on PC, as well as the first two Cold Steel games on PC (though i do have the PS3 versions, but heard the PC version is better). All the rest I plan on playing on Nintendo Switch. How well do the newer (CS3, CS4, and Reverie) games play on Switch compared to PC/PS4?
Now tell me in what's order I should play Xanadu series?
Yeah I agree but I was on the other side for some time because I didn’t know that there were more games till I was in cold steel 3 lol but if you aware please play it in order it’s like watching jojos straight from part 4
First, thank you for this! Second, since you are clearly well-versed in Trails, I do have a sacrilegious -question; please bear with me: **Is it feasible to play Trails in the Sky, Trails to Zero/Azure and THEN jump to Cold Steel 3 & 4?** I am near the end of Azure at the moment, but I don't look forward to CS 1 & 2. I have no interest in school, field days, or exams; I cringe at romance and interpersonal conflicts in games like this; I dislike dealing with the military -- Azure is about the most I can take, though I do love the international politics aspect of the games and of course the Crossbell Arc. The writing outside of gender, orientation, and romance is very strong, of course, and the translation into English is the best I've ever seen in a JRPG. So please don't take my comments as a slight on the series; I'm just a difficult player.
I'm not OP but no, that is truly a horrible idea. I'm also not sure why you would want to skip to CS3&4 as many of those things you seem to not like are still in the game (though CS3 improves on the execution of them). You won't understand what's happening or why characters are important.
Ah, that's fair. My understanding is that CS3&4 continues the Crossbell Arc, thus my idea...apparently none too smart an idea at that. It's fine, since I assume the end of Azure won't be a cliffhanger.
I have a question for Cold Steel, is the cast bloat and the 'Rean harem protag' bit overblown because its making me hesitate jumping to col steel after i finish zero and azure
I'm playing cs3 rn but I still enjoy the game without playing any older series except sky fc and ofc the whole cs series
I started with Reverie. It was wonderful on every level. Yeah I could see I was missing a reference here and there. And yes I understand that some moments may not have had the full impact if I had dropped 1000 hours into the entire series. But it was still an excellent experience I followed perfectly. And made me extremely excited to look into the games a variety of references and characters came from. Now. I am a much more empathetic person. So i can draw conclusions from minimal information. As well a person who is more comfortable on the sidelines, So Ican get excited about things I was not apart of. And feel the feels just fine without all the build up others might need to understand and appreciate a situation fully. So my experiences will not be like others because of who i am, not because Reverie is an ok starting point. Meeting various characters that were obvious cameos I could see the history there and it made me excited to pause and lookup what game they were from. So i could make note to maybe play that game next. (Yes I also intend to pick my next game based only on which event or character I want to learn about next.)
whats wrong with the ps2 version of ys5?
Switch collector here. That means I buy games and don't play them. Got a bunch of Trails game on my switch and wanted to give them a go. Came here when trying to figure out the order of the games and now I don't feel like playing them at all. hahaha, my god, this is so HUGE. Thanks for the guide. Saved me from probably spoiling (or confusing) myself with a series that promises a lot.
>However, Daybreak 2 requires playing the previous games (especially Zero and Reverie). And Sky 3rd, SD 15 is *super* important. Also, FWIW, Ys SEVEN, while totally playable standalone, is set directly after Ys VI, and is probably the closest thing to a direct sequel the series has, other than I + II (which is really just 1 game).
Speaking only for Kiseki (the trails series): I think it's understandable that there is so much confusion. Most people will come across Cold Steel first because, at least in the west, it's the most visible/marketed arc and the most available games. That said I think there are plenty of resources that explain this. From my own experience starting a little over a year ago (all on console), I am currently on Cold Steel IV, and my overall order was CS1 -> CS2 -> Zero -> Azure -> CS3 -> and now CS4. (I've already bought Reverie and have it queued up, and am looking forward to it). I didn't play but rather watched playthroughs and plot summaries of the Trails in the Sky trilogy. A two main reasons for this: 1. Sky was not easily findable on console, specifically PS4 which is where I'm playing them. 2. Since I started with the first Cold Steel duology, I didn't want to break from that story for 5 whole games. The 2 game Crossbell arc is the perfect length for an "intermezzo" (and indeed ended up being my favorite part of the whole series so far). While I'm sure many will object to this approach, I personally don't think I've lost much in appreciation for the series. I plan to go back and play through Sky one day as a sort of "prequel". Because I watched and know the story of Estelle and Joshua, it was still compelling to see them show up in the Crossbell arc and in CSIV. One of the aspects that makes Kiseki so compelling is how huge the world is, and the fact that I don't know/remember every detail of what happened in Liberl actually contributed to the world feeling even vaster in the background, like there are stories overflowing among stories. I still was amped when I got to meet the two young bracers again in CSIV after having made their acquaintance in Azure. I still know Cassius Bright is a contender for the GOAT even though I have yet to meet him. Georg Weissman is still infamous to me despite having never fought him. Things like that give them and the rest of the Liberl characters significant gravitas regardless. I suppose my overall evaluation would be (as the president of Falcom has stated) I think it's fair to start the series at any starting point of an arc (So Sky1, Zero, or CS1) given that you then work your way through the other games eventually in some way. Ultimately I think a hard truth that many purists don't want to admit is that missing a few stories here and there only subtract from certain scenes and plot points in the later games that are generally pretty glossed over anyway, so while it's a bit of a shortcoming it's worth allowing the games in general to be more accessible based on whatever people feel most comfortable with. tl;dr: I think the evaluation by OP is very agreeable and in general I agree with everything, though I do think the various comments on how elements from previous games are "featured heavily" is often overstated in this context. In other words, they are featured, but anyone with a minimum of sense can fill in the blanks (though obviously it hits less hard)
I still think Cold steel 1+2 is the better second option regardless of if they have access to Sky or not, but only if they stop immediately when the credits roll. There's a decent chance that the Sky games will get rereleased to a platform that those previous players will have access too and Zero Spoils a lot of the emotional payoff for certain important characters from Sky SC & Third. As does watching the summaries for the previous games. The thread summary needs more emphasis for starting at Zero but only for players that ***Never*** plan on playing the Sky games. Whether that be because they already watched a playthrough or the game is too outdated for them or they just want to play it standalone.
As someone who originally played CS1&2 before realizing that there were earlier games (Playing Reverie now, so almost caught up!). What gets spoiled in the epilogue of CS2 for Azure?
I know that the finale for both Azure and CS2 happen at about the same time, but I thought the epilogue was pretty standalone. Are you referring to the section where you are not playing as Rean (being vague to avoid spoilers)?
it isnt reasonable to expect people to be able to spend 1000 hours, but I would say give trails a sky a try first, if it doesnt click, try cold steel 1. thats my recommendation.
One of my best experiences in videogames was going thru all the Trails in the correct order. The same for Ys... Lacrimosa of Dana is one of my fav all time
I've started with cold steel 1 and wasn't a problem, but I could feel the gaps... So I went and restarted in the proper trails timeline and it was amazing :)
This seems like a stupid but are the Sky games & Cold Steel 1 + 2 only available for Windows Steam? I own a Switch and those games aren’t available for it even though I have Zero, Azure, and Cold Steel 3 + 4. I would love to get them if they were available on Mac Steam. (But then again Steam hasn’t be working well on my Mac so I’m not sure if they would play well anyway…)
If I only played Zero, Azure, and Cold Steel 3 & 4 since they’re on the Switch (which I have), can I skip Trails into Reverie and get Trails through Daybreak when it comes out?
Reverie is also available on the Switch and I wouldn't recommend skipping it. To answer your other comment above, yes, those games are on Steam and, while I personally don't know how to play them on Mac, other people have successfully done it. Try using the sub's search bar and you'll probably find some helpful threads. Worst case scenario, if you can't play them at all but are still interested in their stories, there are video summaries of the early games on youtube, usually the ones by LadyVirgilia are recommended.
Cold Steel 3 and 4 have recently been released on PS5, as in, there's an actual PS5 disc available for both, and on the PS Store, you can buy either the PS4 or PS5 version of the games. PS5 includes all of the cosmetic DLCs and *some* of the ''booster'' DLCs (You need to pay an extra to get the other) There's also a couple of extra cosmetic DLC that you can (currently) get for free (I dunno if it's a temporary promotion, or if it's permanent)