I LOVE YOU - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - 6

[@NicoB]

Joshua is too much of a freaking dope to be having this many girls fawn over him.

[@KaiserMazoku]

Haha...

[@sapphire3084]

Klose is a good match for Joshua in a different universe. :D

[@tcaz]

Nico you've seen and played enough anime inspired things to realize Japan LOVES that shit by now :p

[@4play2004]

Oh Nico, Nico. If you thought Joshua had it bad, just WAIT till you get into the other games. THE HAREM IS GOING TO BE HUGE!!

[@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE]

“Haha”

[@ZenoKnightShade]

So, literally everyone has commented on how Joshua is the man he is because of Estelle and that’s why his answer to Kloe isn’t that cruel. However, let me go in the exact opposite direction and say that he HAD to be cruel. Any other answer might have given her some kind of false hope. It’s a brutal response, but it’s about the only thing he could say that would offer her any real closure.

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

The double meaning in that is top tier writing

[@tcaz]

Yep. Sometimes trying to be kind can be more cruel over time than being cruel once, depending on the context. It's much better for Kloe's sake if Joshua just completely shut her down. EDIT: See if there are any rare MuvLuv fans out there with this quote: "Time is the cruelest kindness."

[@colt1903]

​@@tcaz I don't know anything about muvluv except some hits and pieces of the fucked up shit I hear happens in (name one that isn't the first game here). So strangely enough, that line probably hits harder for me than it does most MuvLuv fans. 😂

[@MeedaYean]

The thing I think is interesting and compelling about the Lord of Phantasma at this point is not anything about them, but about how Kevin reacts to them. As you said, we’ve seen gloating mysterious villains before. Well, so has Kevin. It’s his job to hunt them down, and he does it all with his signature unflappable style. Weissman, for all his twisted cruelty, never really seemed to bother Kevin all that much. Despite all that, something the Lord of Phantasma said has Kevin shaken. We’ve seen him drop the act and become cold and merciless, but we’ve never seen him angry the way he was back there. At this point I was very interested to know why he was so rattled.

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

Yeah, I noticed that about Kevin but I was about to forget and fall into the same disinterest as Nico, thank you for mentioning it!

[@Thebrawlbro]

So in case you didn't piece it together, the banguet actually happens before the final scene of SC, where Estelle and Joshua are visiting Hamel together. As a reminder, Joshua basically talks about the same thing of going on a trip around the continent to find redemption for his actions, and Estelle basically goes "Nuh uh, no way buster, I'm coming with. We can find Renne together too." And this gets reaffirmed by Joshua saying he and Estelle were in crossbell together when they got pulled in.

[@Gecoma]

In regards to why Joshua said “never” to Kloe, it’s because she phrased it as “if you had never met Estelle” and Joshua thinks he wouldn’t be as good of a person as he is if he’d never met Estelle and… I… just find that so damn cute!

[@KilterNazkre09]

But dident she say if Joshua met Kloe first before Estelle? Unless its a translation thing from JP to ENG?

[@Erpy80]

@@KilterNazkre09 Kloe basically asked if she would have had a chance if he had never met Estelle and Joshua basically says that no, it still wouldn't have happened. He doesn't see her as a potential romantic partner, even if he had never met Estelle. Joshua appears to be attracted to a certain type of person and KIoe isn't that person.

[@zackfair711]

​@@Erpy80I don't think it has anything romantic, it's more about Joshua's darkness and how he feels that only Estelle would be able to save him from it. So if he met Kloe first in the same way he met Estelle, he doesn't see how he can be saved.

[@Erpy80]

@ I honestly think that's possibly reading into it a little bit too deeply. "What if we had met before you met your current boyfriend/girlfriend" is a common question in confessions, both in fiction and in real life. It's not weird for someone who was rejected to want to know if the person who rejected them did so simply because they were already in a committed relationship or also because they don't really consider the other person their type. Even if the question in itself is a potential landmine because a "maybe" just sets the rejected person up for getting stuck in a mindset of silently hoping for her crush' relationship to fall apart at some point.

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

@@Erpy80 That may be the case, but this is Joshua we're talking about, he's self aware of his own darkness and it was estelle specifically who got him out of it.

[@fafaaf61]

Nico, you must realize that Larry is IMMENSELY popular in Japan, usually being near the top of character popularity polls. Remember, “annoying recurring characters who never changes and continues to cause trouble while sometimes getting hilarious comeuppance ” is kinda a popular character archetype in Japan while they tend to be more controversial in western fandoms. This includes Larry, Oldbag(who’s one of the most popular AA characters in Japan) and yes, Gilbert.

[@ronny_innor]

And thus Nico curses himself to meeting Gilbert in future games

[@themaskedfacade9939]

I feel Gilbert is a lot better by virtue of explicitly being a villain. Like Ace Attorney has Larry as Phoenix's 'friend' so there's always an underlying implication that we're supposed to 'like' him. I don't get that vibe with Gilbert. Plus Gilbert always gets shit on and is basically trying to be a bigger threat than he actually is, and I love it.

[@cuac232]

I fucking love Oldbag with all my heart.

[@leonnarem7227]

One fun detail is that Josette now wearing a visor implies that Estelle never gave her goggles back. Smug Estelle always wins.

[@anilite_]

She has the goggles on her chest tho, like hanging from her neck

[@ReanXAlisa]

I only just noticed but it’s interesting that Kloe’s confession to Joshua seems to be physically opposite to the place where Joshua and Estelle were at the end of FC.

[@blackdragoncyrus]

Richard: "Her Majesty pardoned both myself and the sky bandits, she really is too kind." Queen Alicia looking at a salt shaker: "Weissmann, you too are a victim in all of this, you are hereby pardoned of ALL of your crimes forever!"

[@zhaoluyue1995]

Oh god, the pain... the irony...

[@PWLfr]

She would have pardoned Loewe too

[@mystery8820]

Weissmann is an exception, honestly. That guy had too much evil in him.

[@bw6188]

He is sentenced to community service in the Royal kitchens

[@mystery8820]

@@bw6188 That would be Weissmann's personal Gehenna... about as bad as Frieza's in DBZ.

[@Whirlwhind1]

I think Joshua's reasoning for saying no to the possibility of them being together is because Estelle was very much responsible for pulling Joshua out of his Black Fang persona and regaining his humanity. Joshua wouldn't be the same person if not for Estelle, so it's unthinkable that the unfeeling doll that he was could ever fall in love the same way.

[@theinimitablejora522]

Doesn’t mean he should have SAID THE WORD ‘NEVER’ LIKE THAT

[@Ventus777777]

@@theinimitablejora522 but that's the kind of person he would be without Estelle, cold and uncaring. Which I think proves the point.

[@zackfair711]

​@@theinimitablejora522I would think his honesty is one of his attractive traits for the ladies. Not saying never would just be dangling false hope.

[@seda_11]

Joshua could have met her before the attack on Hamel though, I think he just doesn't see Kloe in that way period

[@themaskedfacade9939]

I get the Gilbert and Larry comparison to a certain degree, but here's the thing for me. I hate Larry, but love Gilbert. The problem with Larry to me is that I feel, at least to a certain degree, we're supposed to like him? Like, despite him being such a pain in everyone's ass and at times even being an active creep, Phoenix and Edgeworth still call him a 'friend' (despite seeming just as annoyed by him as we are). Like it feels the games expect us to find him endearing despite him kind of being an awful person. Gilbert on the other hand, is very explicitly a villain. No one respects or likes him. He wants to cause problems for people, the game acknowledges he's not a good person, and he receives consequences. The humor comes from how he desperately wants to be seen as this big threat when he really isn't. The idea of him not growing (whether he does or doesn't isn't something I'll spoil of course) doesn't bother me at all, cuz like, unlike someone like Larry, I wouldn't really expect that of him. I just really enjoy seeing him embarrass himself.

[@dgshoe]

Tbh, Larry was nice in AA1, but in every appearance since he's been getting progressively worse. Phoenix even described him as "likeable" in The First Turnabout!

[@hinnelia23]

@@dgshoeNico puts it best at the end of his Spirit of Justice DLC playthrough the problem with Larry is that he never changes, in every game he’s the exact same Every time it seems like he goes out his way to make things difficult for Phoenix and Edgeworth even when they are trying to help him, hell I think there is a moment in the Spirit of Justice DLC where he straight up says “I don’t want to make things too easy on you lol” so he makes himself a problem on purpose if that doesn’t make you want to choke the life out of him through the screen I don’t know what does

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

Yeah, It's like the game is telling you that you can be the biggest sadist to him, like Campanella seems to be

[@Erpy80]

Honestly, Joshua's answer of "no, that would have never happened" after Kloe asks him if she might have had a chance if she had met him before Estelle was 100% the right thing to do. A "maybe" just gives false hope (which Kloe, who was trying to move on and not trying to get into a situation where she'd be inadvertedly rooting against Estelle's and Joshua's relationship, did not need to hear) and in Joshua's case the "maybe" would have been a blatant lie. Joshua may have broken Kloe's heart, but since he all but confirmed that he never saw her as a potential romantic partner to begin with, giving a cold hard no was really the best thing he could have done for all parties concerned. Scenes like these are why a harem scenario in a game isn't automatically a detrimental element, but you need to pull it off and Trails in the Sky pulls it off very well. Here's a little fridge brilliance for you. Do you remember the beach scene in SC where Estelle asks Joshua what kind of person Karin Astray was and Joshua tells her that in personality and demeanor she was very much like Kloe? Yes, the guy that detractors of the games frequently give flack to for falling in love with and getting into a relationship with his adopted pseudo-sister actually turns out to be romantically turned off by people who remind him of his actual sister. As to you wondering if Joshua had already left by the time the 3rd game started out. Yes, he did. And Estelle came with him. Because this door actually took place AFTER the destruction of the flying city, but BEFORE the epilogue cutscene of the last game where Estelle and Joshua were already in the ruins of Joshua's Erebonian hometown.

[@doorto6152]

Agreed. My interpretation is that Kloe is too much like Karen for Joshua to be romantically attracted to her. On top of all the stuff about how great Estelle is for him, ofc. Girl got sister-zoned.

[@Just_An_AverageJoe]

1:01:07 Joshua said when we freed him that he was traveling WITH estelle in crossbell when the white light showed up

[@blyarin5825]

Right yeah. Its implied with that conversation that she was going to stick with him the whole way.

[@ponycai]

its also implied in the very end of SC (they travelled together)

[@soulevolve3721]

Nico, warning for Moon Door 3. You might want to save that for its own episode as... it ridiculous long by far the most longest door in this game. In fact the length without skipping stuff is about a few hours at minimum maybe for that door I forgot... So heads up there. Just giving this so your prepared for that at least.

[@Anayoth]

Yeah, felt like that Door took forever the first time around

[@gogglblazegaming8410]

Moon door 3 is very long but sets up important characters for later games.

[@Jothaka]

It should still be done as early as possible. One important note though: You can safe within the door similar to the door Nico did today.

[@sheridanmovieguy]

It's very long, yes, but unlike Moon Door 1 there's breaks where you walk around where you can save. And like others have said it's very important to get the backstory for that character before moving on to other doors further on.

[@zackfair711]

​@@SuperSupersodaplease avoid saying if a character that is about to appear is "important", it sets up unnecessary expectations instead of being pleasantly surprised later on.

[@SomeAsian]

Considering Estelle thought Joshua's sister sounded like Kloe when he described her Yeah no way Kloe had a chance.

[@tcaz]

As opposed to Estelle who is... also his sister, just differently XD

[@thebacklashwaveV]

Jokes aside, IRL please don't say maybe to what-if romance questions, never ends well

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

Even if true?

[@krasherom]

@@BlaxeFrost-X It's still hurtful. Even asking for time to properly think about it is a bit of a gamble despite it giving both sides a chance to cool down and ponder the choice. Mind you, a Blatant shut down or even ignoring them also hurts as it tramples on their feelings.

[@tunamayhoe]

@@BlaxeFrost-X Would it be true if that scenario doesn't ever exist? You'd be just hanging that person around and wasting their time when they need closure to be able to move on.

[@Kuraiuta]

Joshua said the right thing. Edit: Without Estelle, Joshua would have been the Black Fang. But those years with Estelle changed him to be the man he is today. The Joshua that Kloe loves would not exist.

[@jmporkbob]

In any other series, the Kloe-Joshua subplot would've been left at Estelle and Kloe's heartfelt conversation back in early SC. But fortunately Sky the 3rd exists so we have this emotional, grounded, and mature payoff, and Kloe can get her closure.

[@JohnPaul-ec5ug]

While I personally think SC ended in a perfect place, part of me was kinda sad not to be able to see the “wind-down” after the climax of that game. This is part of why I love this Door so much. Its really nice getting to see the aftermath of the end of SC, and how all the characters feel about what went down.

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

Honestly, many many games feel like that, there's not really a resolution and aftermath to most games, and it's the most interesting part for me, I like to see how everything ended up in detail.

[@sabbathb6548]

20:34 Joshua: I owe a lot of people here. Estelle: *Comes back with a roasted chicken in her mouth.* Hey Joshua? Where’s that money you took from me? When you kissed me and robbed me while you drugged me? Joshua: Uhhhhhhh Estelle: DO I HAVE TO GET THE STICK?!

[@PhantomVizor777]

In regards to Kloe's confession, I believe Joshua handled that situation very well. Being brutally honest was definitely the way to go. The last thing you want to do is give her false hope by saying maybe and therefore deny her any closure at all.

[@aschryu1682]

ignore anyone saying that you should play in certain order, JUST PLAY by release order, dont touch steel series before zero and azure

[@joaocbcneto]

Hard agree, I've said my piece about how both arcs are written in a very smart way here but release order is still best.

[@SpanishFly120]

I swear, every Estelle and Josette interaction is amazing, and the contrast between the other Sky Bandits, and Anelace's group betting on an eating contest between the two while Dorothy is just absolutely starving and weak 2 tables away and can probably see/hear the whole thing is hilarious.

[@Talisguy]

I love that the fact that they're both attracted to the same boy is, at most, 5% of the reason they can't stand each other. It's a very refreshing change from most other fiction involving girl-boy-girl love triangles.

[@SpanishFly120]

@Talisguy As plenty of people and other characters point out, they're a ton more alike than either would be willing to admit, lol.

[@cranesalvation8391]

It’s these doors that made me realize how much soul these games have

[@ryannewman3589]

53:06 - 54:00 POV: Nico’s reaction to meeting a picky penguin named Joshua who says Gilbert is their favorite Trails character and not Kloe.

[@UchaNekome]

I love that Joshua's reaction to Kloe's confession boils down to. "No, not even if my current girlfriend didn't exist, sorry." Which to be fair makes it easy for Kloe to move on but DAMN Joshua, I thought you gave up the life of an assassin. You didn't have to go for the jugular.

[@tiduswordplayer]

Its the honest truth there is not a damn person on the planet who is like Estelle its a major aspect of her character how "Bright" she is compared to other people she saved him from being the black fang Kloe would never be able to do that and they both knew it

[@UchaNekome]

@@tiduswordplayer I know and I'm glad Joshua says this. (Like I said it's better for helping Kloe move on) But it's still a murdered by words moment. XD

[@rangergxi]

Well he says "never" because he would not have become the person she loved in the first place without Estelle.

[@UchaNekome]

@ Thanks, you're the second person to tell me something I already knew. I get the feeling people are misconstruing my comment. Just to clarify. Yes I do think it's better Joshua be honest with her. I'm also glad he was blunt. Was it harsh, yes. Was it necessary, also yes. I was just making a joke about how harsh it sounded. If I get one more comment telling me the reasons why Joshua let her down, when honestly "he has a girlfriend" should be a good enough reason already, I'm gonna ignore it.

[@Erpy80]

He basically tells her that he doesn't see her as a potential romantic partner. In the beach scene of the second game, Estelle asks Joshua what kind of person Karin Astray was. Joshua replied that in terms of demeanor and personality she was very much like Kloe. Yep, the guy who fell in love with and started dating his adopted sister is romantically turned off by people who remind him of his actual sister.

[@digishade7583]

Hey Nico thanks for always being here and bringing a bit more humour and light into my life. recently my grandpa died and we just had the funeral today. It was a struggle hearing the eulogies of my dad and uncles, putting the flowers onto the coffin talking with family and knowing I won't ever see the grumpy old man that's been in my life up until now. it's hard and painful. and what do I see at the end of this difficult day but one of your videos with that little bit of light and humour right when I need it most. thank you SO much.

[@matttheshadowman2790]

Joshua saying what he did to Kloe about them never having a chance isn’t through him being mean to her or stupidity on his part but cold logic. While Estelle has very much helped change Joshua for the better deep down he has always thought and acted in a very logical manner. That cold logic extends to him realising that without Estelle he would have not been anything like the person Kloe fell in love with. Without that had he met Kloe before he would have not been anything like how he is now. That’s not a slight against Kloe or even him being horrible or mean, it’s his own internal logic on himself. Now whether he is correct in that assumption and logic is a whole other discussion. PS: Gilbert really is actually popular and I feel the reason why is similar to how Team Rocket in Pokémon is popular. It’s not the potential of character growth but the antics he gets up to that makes him entertaining.

[@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE]

The scene with Kloe and Joshua is just fantastic man. Kloe could have easily kept her feelings to her chest for the rest of her life, but she wanted to admit to Joshua how she felt in order for her to properly move on. It’s so freakin sweet and a surprising mature way to handle a situation like this. Melia from Xenoblade should have taken some notes…..

[@tiduswordplayer]

Not really confessing to a boy behind the girlfriends back is usually not considered a "mature" move even if said girlfriend knew about the feelings literally most girls would not be ok with their boyfriend being confessed to by another girl in real life Melia didn't confess because she knew she'd 100% get rejected not a lot of people would be willing to do that like Kloe did doesn't make her immature for not doing so

[@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE]

@ Idk I just found this outcome way more satisfying than Melia’s. It just sounds more healthy to at least admit how you feel about something instead of keeping it inside forever. That’s what I think anyway 🤷‍♂️

[@Chausies7]

Nico, if you don't remember the ending to SC, it has Estelle and Joshua in Hamel (in Erebonia) in front of a grave for Loewe. This implies that Joshua does indeed to Estelle on his journey outside Liberl.

[@JDC1990]

No, Joshua said the right thing. If I knew one of my friends lured my boyfriend away to confess to him, I'd be so betrayed and pissed. If my partner said anything different, I'd be heartbroken. Imagine him saying 'yes, if only I'd met you first I wouldn't be with her' That's devastating!

[@yosumarainesuable]

I don't think Nico meant that he shouldn't say no, just that he can say no in a more delicate way. 😅 I imagine there's a lot of way to phrase it better than how he said it.

[@KilterNazkre09]

​@@yosumarainesuable we can never know because it never happened 😅

[@smug_slime]

Even without considering estelle feelings they would never meet the way they are now too.

[@JDC1990]

@yosumarainesuable Oh no, my issue wasn't with Nico at all - it was just the situation in general. I'd never be okay with my friend leading my partner away when I'm not looking just to confess and then ask if I didn't exist would they be with them. I get this is a game and the character have different circumstances in a fantasy setting, but in real life I would never be okay with it.

[@Catlady29]

Estelle is better than me because she would be okay with it...while I'd be throwing hands 😂

[@strelitziamystery21]

You know it would be funny if like how everyone praises Cassius for just walking on the very same ground as them, everyone is going to be in love with Joshua even if all he does is stare at them. The Bright men are just built different. Poor Estelle lol

[@ronny_innor]

Estelle : Everyone will get the stick if they ever compares me

[@smotriashiy]

Thinking of Joshua as ladykiller... Wait till you meet Rean, he is the real S class in these department.

[@sometwithtoomuchfreetim3842]

About Gilbert, yes he is a fan fav and guess what, Larry is a fan fav too! Yes, you are gonna suffer. Deal with it~

[@Cosplaythief]

I also think Joshua said the right thing. He isn’t insulting her and he isn’t lying to make her feel better. I hate when guys do things like leading a girl on or giving mixed messages because they “don’t want to hurt their feelings”. Just be truthful and not insult them.

[@SuperSupersoda]

And in the first encounter in the Silver door, Nico encountered one of the most annoying enemy types in all of trails: creatures that cast Deathscream when they die, it's a wide area of effect and it can often insta-kill party members. These enemies are common in places like Phantasma, where the higher elements are prevalent.

[@flynrazor7714]

51:40 I HAD THE EXACT SAME REACTION AS YOU! Like the confession SEEMS like it comes out of nowhere, but the slight build up from the past games and the way the confession NEEDED to happen in order for kloe to move on...Man, I LOVE Trails character writing, it's incredible. I just love how real many of the character interactions FEEL you know? The Joshua/Klee door is one that always stuck with when I completed the game. I love these characters man. As a bonus I'm leaving this here to keep replaying (53:11) cause oh my goodness did start crying from the laughter. LIKE FOR REAL I GET WHY BUT STILL JOSHUA WHY!!! LOL!!!

[@lautaro.O.L.]

54:12 Kloe: "... I really love both you and Estelle" Now, that maybe have sound adorable, but I'm fully expecting a Xenoblade 2 twist here and jumpforward to future Joshua, Estelle and Kloe with a baby in each arm

[@FlameOfUdun96]

Queen Alicia is really handing out those pardons like candy huh…I’m sure a ton of Liberlian prisoners are hoping for another national crisis to happen so they can get a chance to redeem themselves lol

[@joelsasmad]

You could say her policies are extremely... liberal. *Ba dum tss*

[@SuperSupersoda]

The thing about the people Queen Alicia pardoned is that none of them were actually evil, in the case of the sky bandits, they were actual low-level criminals, who were mind-controlled into higher crimes, and in the case of Richard, he was also working under mind control. I do find it to be a cool touch that all of them (even Mayor Dalmore) are working to pay the Queen back for her graciousness.

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

@@SuperSupersoda Yeah, they also mention a debt, like, they owe money to liberl

[@kurtmorales7644]

Damn. Joshua rejecting Kloe has the same energy as Suburu rejecting Rem.

[@strelitziamystery21]

Omfg lmao

[@fen6300]

Yes, the chests whenever you have to have several teams taking several paths are rearranged so that the party members that are in there get new equipment

[@SuperSupersoda]

Gilbert being a member of Ouroboros is meant as a commentary on the society. Gilbert is the trails version of the classic Groucho Marx quip "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member."

[@aneonfoxtribute]

When you got Joshua, he told you where he was. He was in Crossbell WITH Estelle. So presumably, Estelle forced him to take her with him. Also at the end of the last game, we saw the two in Erebonia, at Hamel. That was most likely after the banquet as well. So he didn't leave Estelle.

[@oddjars]

Kloe: Joshua, you had me from the first moment I met you. I've always loved you. Joshua: ...What? Kloe: Goodbye, Joshua. *jumps off balcony Joshua: ...WHAT!? Sieg: SCREEEEEEEE!!!

[@aneonfoxtribute]

The localization confusion is exactly as weird as it sounds. The games are very much meant to be played in release order. Skipping Zero and Azure doesn't make narrative sense

[@SuperSupersoda]

What it made was financial sense. Cold Steel was the new hotness, 3D graphics, a persona-like school setting, and actual voice acting (somewhat). They felt they could sell Cold Steel, and that they couldn't sell Crossbell.

[@Karifean]

​@@SuperSupersoda And it was probably right on the money too; Cold Steel widened the audience considerably, brought it to a level Sky alone certainly didn't and Zero/Azure very likely wouldn't have managed either.

[@Erpy80]

@@Karifean Zero and Azure were also made specifically for the PSP, which was a dying system that only got the localized version of Sky SC because Falcom got their PSP localization kits back from Sony especially for the occasion. XSeed was also a rather tiny company who only had one programmer, meaning that porting the games was tricky. That was all there was to it. The Crossbell games weren't deemed financially viable at the time and still might not have been if Geofront hadn't done the heavy lifting beforehand.

[@SuperSupersoda]

@@Karifean No doubt it was the right call, but it left Crossbell in the lurch for close to a decade. All's well that ends well, but business decisions have to be made.

[@FieryAnubis]

Alright, play order stuff: Sky Trilogy > Zero > Azure > Cold Steel 1-4 > Reverie > Daybreak > Future stuff That's how you get the most out of the plot. Yeah, the localization really went all over the place, but now that everything's caught up, that should be the final solution to everything when it comes to play order. It's also technically the original release order, so yeah.

[@seda_11]

Nah, the localization order is 100% as wild as it seems at face value. Very important stuff happens in those games to connect the previous and following ones lol

[@fen6300]

At least, she confesses to her one-sided love, even though he already has someone else, unlike some other JRPG princess.... I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU MELIA !

[@JinseiKaen]

Nico telling Nial to let Dorothy eat something is funny because when you consider how much antics she gets away with when his leash on her is so tight, and the moment he let her loose she sleepwalked to the entire wrong country, I only fear what might happen if he gave her more wiggle room. She might be a force more powerful than smug Estelle.

[@karasu433]

Now imagine smug...Dorothy

[@Ninjastyle124]

I love Dunan's redemption arc because he ended up being a good person while still remaining a pompous ass. You can see it in how he talks to people. A lot of writers would probably give Dunan a completely new personality to show he's changed but Trails instead still portrays him as a guy who talks big, is full of himself, and is overly extravagant, but instead of being a literal manchild like he was in FC he actually sees the value in hard work, cooperation, and treating everybody as valuable human beings rather than lords and pawns.

[@KaiserMazoku]

IMO, Gilbert is just too pathetic to truly hate, and you do gotta appreciate his tenacity, at least.

[@ronny_innor]

This is Larry all over again

[@wheelotime2581]

Joshua was the true protagonist after all Got 3 women chasing him and was completelty dense on 2 of them

[@Miyochii02]

I had so many words for this door as it's one of my favorites. Not only is it a Kloe closure door, but we see Joshua's thoughts about the people there. And almost everyone was here! I was gonna say applause for Nico for just being able to keep track of how he voices everyone especially where everyone was here... But man, funnily enough, it was Smug Estelle that got me the most 🤣

[@DarknessInferno15]

Nice timing. I just finished Daybreak earlier this week and I'm already suffering Trails withdrawls, lol.

[@SA7O3H1]

I finished Daybreak yesterday myself. And yeah the withdrawal symptoms showed up immediately. JUST 1 MORE MONTH UNTIL DAYBREAK 2, JUST 1 MORE MONTH!

[@4play2004]

@@SA7O3H1 Demo is announced on 1/26/24.

[@thelittlefire1914]

*flashback to the SC episode where Kloe admits her crush on Joshua* Me: hmm, today I will make an “I love you and all you guys” joke *mutter mutter mutter* Me: Wait, huh? *mutter mutter mutter* Me: WHADDAYA MEAN SHE ACTUALLY CONFESSES!?

[@EasilyBoredGamer]

hating gilbert is like hating team rocket, it just doesn't seem reasonable

[@Eclin]

I mean at least they gave team rocket a proper characters other than pathetic goofy villain sometimes lol.

[@MFMegaZeroX7]

I mean, I also like Larry in Ace Attorney. And Old Bag. I feel like some people evaluate characters by the "I'd like to have a beer with them" basis, but I certainly don't. I like characters based on how enjoyable they are in the story, and I enjoy the humor they bring in.

[@spiderh711]

There's a reason why Trails of Cold Steel was localized before Zero and Azure. Xseed Games had a Developers Diary on Tumblr and I would read the updates and this is their reason. Cold Steel 1 and 2 were released only on the PS3 and Vita in Japan and the most recent Trails games at the time. The PS3 was already on its way out. By the time they were to release Cold Steel after Zero and Azure, considering how long the translations took, it would already be too late to release a PS3 game out the door (this was around 2015). And due to the unique circumstances where the games take place in the timeline. They decided to work on CS after Sky. This was to assure that the games were to be released on a modern console . While it's worth it to play the games in order, Xseed's decision had the best intentions so the games could still have eyes on them. These games are still niche and in order for the games to sell well over here in the West they had to have the recent game on a modern console. As it later did get a PC and PS4 release.

[@Mathamus1]

While I do agree that the lord of phantasma seems to act and look like a generic villian. Kevin's reaction to them last episode was very much out of character from what I've seen of him before. which definitly intrigued me at this point to where this was going. I think you could have used the cube to assign one of Kevin's team as backup for Ries's squad. Kevin actually has a pretty decent support skill according to the notebook and so does Ries for Kevin's part of this chapter if I am right.

[@AndrewStorm]

51:30 - I wonder what would happened if Josette happens to be hiding behind that big tree during that entire scene and trying her hardest not to break the bark of the tree.

[@tracedayoshi196]

Josette: "Fight me Estelle!" Estelle: *unleashes the smug* Josette: "WHAT IS THIS DEMON POWER?!"

[@JacobMoreau]

Don't know if that would be considered a spoiler or not but just about the general timeline of these games so you are not confused by it in the future. All of these games generally go forward in time. There is only 4 games that overlap each other a.k.a. take place at "roughly" the same time. Those games being: Zero and Azure take place around the same time as Cold Steel 1 and 2 with some events overlapping here and there in them. The rest is just one massive forward moving timeline with minor time skips in-between titles from time to time. Hope that helps!

[@Ajfaruzzi]

Just gonna throw this out there but Trails from Zero will be an absolute banger of a let's play whenever you inevitably get to it! Take a break if you start getting burned out though!

[@kentstopme]

I think Zero and Azure will be his favorite from his series, some of his critiques are like nonexistent there and the ones that are done good are done better, no offense to sky but it really shows its age and why a remake was needed.

[@biblemaneverett6528]

Today is my birthday, so a video about one of my favorite series is a great present.

[@Christian_Kim]

Joshua truly harnessing that JRPG protag energy of making every girl fall for him. Sadly for him and those girls, this isn’t a harem anime.

[@Erpy80]

Not yet anyway. Falcom hadn't realized at that time what Japan truly wanted yet.

[@ZenetosZenohold]

*Day 6 of waiting for Estelle to join the Party and for Nico's eventual insane episode intro* Man this flashback with Kloe confessing to Joshua is the most we had of Estelle this game so far. It's nice and all but they really know how to tease us with that Estelle shaped missing spot in the Party.

[@MrFutago87]

So the continuity of the series is mostly linear, one game just follows the previous, fina and easy. The only exception to that are the Crossbell games (Zero and Azure) that take place rougly at the same time as the first two Cold Steel games. That's really all there is to it.

[@lyonisgrado]

As others pointed out, Josua pre-Estelle was the Black Fang of Ouroboros. So when he says 'never', that's probably why. At that point, Joshua would have been incapable of loving Kloe. But there's a personal train of thought I followed. When Joshua and Kloe first meet, he noticeably stares at her which Estelle teases him about maybe having a crush or something. But the way I see it, I think Kloe reminds Joshua of Karin to an extent. She even has a similar purple haircut. I also vaguely remember a comparison being drawn between the two at some point, but I don't remember when. So when he turns her down, I interpreted that as being a part of the reason why he says 'never'. Kloe reminds him too much of his sister to feel love towards, even if Estelle were out of the picture. So he turns Kloe down because she reminds him too much of his blood related sister. Meanwhile, he ends up falling for Estelle who's his sister by adoption because she very much isn't Karin. Ain't that a kick in the head? And honestly, I liked Gilbert because I do think he has potential. Specifically, I was really holding on to the idea that he would join us as a playable character. Say what you will, but Gilbert has a pretty damn good move set for a joke character. An attack delay, line freeze beam, close range gunfire with good knockback, long range gunfire, area gunfire, a really powerful stat debuff, G-Apache could be an S-Craft, there's a genuine Craft based fighter hiding in this guy. I would have liked for him to be playable. Although to be fair, wanting him to be playable was kind of a personal running joke like a fixed up Reverie suddenly appearing to save the day during key scenes in SC. Edit: Also Sun Door 1 helped. His pretty smooth and competent flying with those Z formations, circular feints, and attacks using the G-Apache. Dying to Gilbert in a pretty fun minigame and hearing his voice lines really endeared this loser to me.

[@Erpy80]

I always figured that Joshua stared at Kloe because he recognized her as Princess Klaudia. As Nial points out, her picture actually HAD been in the newspaper a few times (just wearing a wig) and Joshua's an avid reader, so he probably remembered those pictures and was in the process of putting two-and-two together.

[@lyonisgrado]

@@Erpy80 That's definitely the more likely option. I just find my idea funnier even if it's not the most accurate arrow in the theory quiver.

[@astraybright]

Just want to second what someone said after Joshua's appearance and repeat that Joshua should be rapidly approaching our location til Estelle shows up. Or better yet: be rapidly approaching Estelle's location.

[@tebeakim3670]

Yeah, tthe memory fragment of Joshua and Kloe was great and interesting. It was quite a surprise that Kloe confessed her feelings to Joshua, but understandable, because she also told Estelle that she loves him, too and wanted a closure of it to move on from him, I guess, because Kloe knows that they both love each other. I think the reason why Joshua said no to her (for the question, if he had met her before Estelle) is that even if he had met her before Estelle, that would be when he still was in the organization Ouroboros and when he was different back then, it still does not matter to him, because it was not until Estelle´s father Cassius Bright who defeated him in a battle and took him home and raised him together with Estelle who changed his life completely and made it brighter. Estelle was the one who took him out from the darkness and showed him the light, so it was impossible to be the Joshua who he is now without her (and her father), because they saved him, therefore he could say that easily to Kloe (even if it feels a bit too bold). The memory fragments are really interesting and entertaining, so that we learn/know more of what happened off-screen and the relationships about the characters and how they feel about some things. ^_^ Anyway, I am curious what will happen in Kevin´s side of the labyrinth and what comes next.

[@DarknessInferno15]

So, Nico: Joshua said no to Khloe like that because he was trying to be kind, actually. If he said anything other than a definitive "no" to that question, she could forever be hung up on the "what if" and never truly move on from him. By firmly denying her, she can begin to move forward. After all, she confessed to Joshua with the express goal of being turned down and finding closure in that. I believe Joshua recognized that and followed through.

[@NinjaPopeXue]

There is so damn much competition for best girl this arc. Estelle, Kloe, Tita, Renne, Ries, Princess Joshua...

[@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE]

Ries for me easily. When we get to cold steel though, that’s when it’ll get difficult. Cuz I love them all 😭

[@Gdg195]

Ambasaor coachrane is the best of all

[@Moody.Smiruai]

best girl gets impossible at cold steel

[@yoshy66]

I love when characters get to interact with each other, these moments where everyone is together and talk about what's going on and what will they do after it has been some time since you saw them...Man, these characters are so good I really love them. Falcom has serious talent to make these "idle chats", with every passing game I found myself spending more and more time chatting with NPC's and let me tell you, later games have A LOT of NPC's to interact with.

[@verols335]

For me the doors in this game are everything, the main story is good, but the door stories are just peak sometimes, some of them unreasonably well written, especially THAT one iykyk

[@ddddirge]

Interesting that at the part where you need to split your parties, the chests adapts too And gonna be interesting for Golden Roads and probably the next planes (or chapters) too

[@lisabarnes924]

True nightmare for Nico is that Gilbert and Larry team up to create the worst gaming experience ever created for him.

[@dgshoe]

Instead of a redemption arc, how would you feel if Gilbert had an arc in the opposite direction: going from a pathetic wimp into an actually serious and meaningful threat?

[@radrush1235]

Thank you Nico for making me get interested in this series to the point where I had to figure out the exact timeline of the games to see what order I would have to play them for the best and canon experience. Oh god

[@ponycai]

best Kloe moment (along with the stage conversation with Estelle in SC)

[@roninwarriorsfan]

1:00:04 estelle: there's so many of them too you're welcome, nico

[@mastermindmonokuma]

Maybe the true trails in the sky were the Gilberts we killed along the way.

[@DeniableWhistle]

You can really see what remains of the old "Joshua was the protagonist" concept in this episode, considering he has an entire pseudo-harem.

[@Talisguy]

Yes, but he and Estelle swapped roles and personalities as well as focus, so this Joshua is a completely different character than protagonist Joshua would have been.

[@arotixtrenar]

*As soon as Kloe had confessed her feelings to Joshua; fate had decided to be cruel to the princess. For the two love rivals had overheard what she said. Causing the two to be blinded by rage, attacking the poor girl. It had been said that to this day, people can still hear the screams of three girls in this Harem Anime game.*

[@TortugaSousa]

It's so weird seeing Nico play this game because I legit don't think I ever used any basic attacks ever

[@tylergaudry8050]

16:40 well this is before joshua and estelle left for erebonia so she may actually be dead in the present time

[@sabbathb6548]

To be honest without Estelle, Joshua wouldn’t be brought back. I doubt Kloe would ever love The Black Fang.

[@npc_hat]

Joshua’s ultimate S-Craft: Heartbreaker

[@junazuranoob6192]

Kloe: I love you, Joshua. Joshua: I love fireworks. Kloe: Wait what firework?! Did you just fireworkzone me?! Joshua: … Estelle: What did I miss?? *Firework noise* Joshua:…

[@zhaoluyue1995]

1:16:38 Yes, one of the worst nightmares in the whole falcom history, the Fucking Four Chaining cannon. In the PSP version, these cannon ACTUALLY HIT YOU FOUR TIMES. Imagine when we get to this point of the game and SUDDENLY our health are deleted.

[@Molliekinz85]

Also I've been playing in order since sky and beyond I had fun knowing what was around the corner for you hahaha

[@smotriashiy]

Gilbert actually The Grandmaster in disguise, he is the main villian of all trails games and have infinite lives. That why Campanella, who takes orders directly from Ouroboros leader, always tag with him...

[@Amberle38]

Yes, you may have to be a bit strategic & pay attention to status effects occasionally even on normal difficulty, those insta-death attacks can turn an easy fight into a disaster very fast 😂

[@Zodia195]

Why am I not surprised to see Nico decide to do 'a bit more' only for him to cut off at the end of the video lol. You just HAD to move things forward lol.

[@colt1903]

Party 1: Joshua's Harem + A Creepy Priest Party 2: A pair of Military Experts and a child soldier + Tita

[@Aciddemon_Pirate]

I’ve been watching Nico since the persona 4 golden days and when he just crashes out by the game being dumb in parts or specific characters being dumb. It’s just something really funny because it’s like he physically gets punched in the gut by the game.

[@Noremarc]

About the translation situation around zero and azure, geofront's translation that was used as a base was licensed so they were actually paid (some of them are also hired as contractors for translations now i believe) and they even went through the effort of tracking the original translators before that and giving them compensation too. Geofront also did a translation for a psp game called "ys vs trails in the sky" which has also been recently licensed to be used in an upcoming release which makes their work REALLY impressive.

[@Random_Kelsey]

51:39 I love how Nico read on instinct before reality kicked in 😂

[@casterforlife4995]

Joshua really rejected the future queen of Liberl just to be with his sister lol

[@Erpy80]

Given that Joshua mentioned having done political assassinations in the past, him officially getting together with the queen of Liberl would have been the mother of all diplomatic nightmares.

[@zillo1600]

I think saying "yeah if I met you before Estelle we would be a couple." is more cruel. Now Kloe at least know this would have never worked out and she can move on.

[@toastyginger1059]

The localization order in terms of the narrative is disastrous but I think in terms of sales it was probably the right move. The first trails game I played was Cold Steel 1, I did not know it was part of a series, the reason for that is I had just finished Persona 4 Golden on the PS Vita and was hankering for another game that played similar. Let just say that if you put screenshots from Cold Steel next to Persona you will notice some similarities. It was very much intentional on the part of Falcom and XSeed and it definitely got more people into the series, riding Persona's rising wave of popularity. There was definitely moments that were baffling as I played and CS1 spoiled a bunch of things in Sky that where a joy to see you react to in your playthrough. Imagine, if you will, having everything about a certain wandering bard completely spoiled because why wouldn't you know it is the 6th game in the series.

[@Moonlight-mt7qv]

Hey Nico, do you know what else the fireworks do? They leave TRAILS IN THE SKY! Also, about that conversation between Joshua and Kloe - I believe, he replied this way so Kloe wouldn’t think about how things COULD have been, had Joshua met her before Estelle. Kloe clearly needed to move on, and saying stuff like “hey, I don’t love you, but guess what? If I met you before my girlfriend, we could be a couple instead” could actually make it worse. Not to mention that without Estelle Joshua wouldn’t become the person he is today. The history of localization of these games is pretty crazy (even involving attempts of one translator to… well… end his life), but it doesn’t affect the order at all. The games should be played as follows: Trails in the sky 1,2,3 -> Trails from Zero -> Trails from Azure -> Trails of cold steel 1,2,3 and 4 -> Trails into Reverie -> Trails through Daybreak. In my opinion, the only real break that you would 100% need is a break between Trails to Azure and Cold Steel 1. My experience tells me that people tend to dislike CS1 for the drastic change of pace after the most action-packed trails game - Trails to Azure (which is considered the best in the series by many). I would suggest to make a break after Sky 3rd, then play Crossbell games -> make another break -> play Cold Steel 1 and 2 -> make a short break here -> play Cold steel 3 and 4 -> play Reverie -> make another break -> play Daybreak. Of course, this is merely a suggestion. I hope you’ll enjoy the series, Nico! Thank you for your wonderful let’s plays!