My Top 10 Trails Characters

[@TheKisekiNut]

In a Series as rich with stellar characters as Trails, we'll all have our favourites. And here are mine up till Cold Steel IV! Will my opinions differ from yours? Definitely - but let's keep it civil!

[@KudaGeatsune3821]

Agreed for me I loved altina and Ren for much the same reasons you did though rean would likely be an honorable mention despite how much I can relate to him

[@erynnjeagerbomb]

I agree with all except crow being my favorite 😅 But Renne is definitely the best too cause of the backstory

[@erynnjeagerbomb]

Do you have a discord server cause you should make one (:

[@TheNOODLER100]

@@erynnjeagerbomb seconded

[@trailstoinfinity4316]

Funny how Richard had so much potential since sky fc he was planned as a playable character and was scrapped all the way up to 3rd his voices were all from up till fc including the win voices etc and kanone had at some point being playable potential but later scrapped why falcom does this who knows lol he deserved better

[@Realag666]

I really really love Randy for some Reason. The Big Brother Energy is something I never experienced from a little brother perspective by being a big Brother myself and Randy is just pure Big Brother energy

[@xalin73]

One of my favorites is still Sara. Comedy, seriousness, leadership, teacher and sometimes silly. She does it all! Decent back story as well.

[@KudaGeatsune3821]

Basically a badass goofball who will kick your ass if your not prepared

[@yojimbo26]

She was amazing in CS1 but sadly dropped in importance in subsequent games. Still she did carry the first game so well.

[@enigmaarcs8559]

If you like that quality in her, you will love Olivier.

[@xalin73]

@@enigmaarcs8559 Oh yes Olivier is awesome as well.

[@TheKisekiNut]

She was very close to my honourable mentions, but unfortunately like many members of Class VII she's put on the proverbial shelf for the newer members later on. And I just don't think she got enough in the first half of Cold Steel.

[@DanyGasta89]

Couldn't agree more on the first place entry...Just hearing a quick recap of her story and the hell she went through was enough to wet my eyes in recollection..and the miracle that she managed to blossom in such a marvelous and fine lady. Thanks, Bright lads, for caring for her

[@Dxwill10]

Watching Renne have conversations with her family in 4 was one of the most emotional moments in all the series for me (and there are A LOT) Seeing how she never reveals herself was sad, but ultimately, the right choice. She's truly healed and moved on, but clearly cares enough to care for their well-being. She is indeed worthy of the best character Falcom, or any dev, has ever made.

[@nediojon749]

I have a feeling that her family knew who she was but realized that she has found her new home and will support her in that endeavor but also with her father inviting her and the brights to dinner they hope to at least get to know her now

[@adahnliegl740]

I recently managed to finally play Zero and Azure and the "Caught you" scene is a strong contender for the scene in a video game that tore me up the most.

[@Dxwill10]

@@adahnliegl740 Oh for sure, I damn near teared up just reading this comment thinking about it lol

[@SantosOverlord]

hope to see her promise with her dad on Reverie

[@NachtKaiser666]

Oh man! Love to see Altina get some love! She felt like a rehash of Fie early in 3 but it's done so much better! Seeing her open up, develop a personality and finding interests are so satisfying! Seeing her burst into tears for Millium as she wakes up in 4 is heartbreaking. Even is she had some snark in 2 and 3, she gets really into teasing other characters in 4 with her more monotonous voice and I just love it!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Good thing that figure prototype is done!

[@vittoriopugliese3352]

I had loved Fie, but Altina literally is my favorite Trails character ever

[@adamstrakna6270]

appreciate the Duvalie love. I always appreciate when an Ouroboros member is willing to second guess their mistress' grand plans when they happen to involve the literal end of the world. same reason I love bleublanc and vita, not too many Cold Steel characters are willing to go against their leadership

[@adamstrakna6270]

also while I appreciate Osbourne's character, I'm not so sure that his redemption was very successful. Sure, he had some decent motives for his actions but he was still willing to risk the literal end of the world and ruin countless lives in order to destroy Ishmelga/Ishmelga's influence. Yeah sure Ishmelga was bad but I don't think anything Ishmelga did in the past was nearly as terrible as the potential consequences of Osbourne's actions

[@Orphim]

@@adamstrakna6270 I know it's late, but I'd argue that Osbourne was the only person who could have done what he did successfully. Ishmelga was eventually going to get it's way and if not for Osbourne, would have guaranteed the destruction of the world. Osbourne gave the world a chance with his actions, decisions, and willpower. If I understood the story correctly, Ishmelga and the Great Twilight was inevitable.

[@BlueCrimson10]

-pushes up glasses-well technically she was never a member of Ouroboros. She's been part of Arianrhod's private strike force. She never harbored enough darkness to fit with the group

[@Iamtheamazingmrg]

I think part of the reason the new Class VII are stronger characters than the original is due to the fact there aren't as many of them. Starting with the original three allowed Falcom to really develop them before expanding the roster, and it showed. Especially during Chapter 2 of Cold Steel 3. And Altina publically shaming Rean never gets old.

[@ThatGuyKazz]

Recently finished Trails from Zero and yeah, can confirm that "Caught you..." is probably the best line in the series so far. Renne is best girl.

[@ordinaryhuman5645]

I came here to confirm that Renne is best girl, and that's still the case after playing through Reverie.

[@majistro3444]

That line made me cry. Beautiful!

[@LOREWITHBLAZER]

I’m jus hoping Kevin comes back in the new game

[@lelouch6865]

Same

[@GeorgPrime2]

They want you to forget about kevin xD

[@buttertoast1146]

He'll become a villian

[@TimPaler]

Kondo said Kevin will return in Calvard ark.

[@linuxwizzerd5908]

sort of wish granted

[@dennisbergkamp17]

Man, I know I’ve said this in some of your previous videos, but as someone that started with the Cold Steel games, I can not thank you enough for providing more context for some of these characters. My love for the Trails series has grown so much because of your videos. Thank you for these, and keep up the good work homie.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Thanks for your kind words as always mate! :)

[@brendanmcbride4948]

Love your videos, man! I always keep coming back to them even after beating the games. I especially appreciate your “Story of” videos. They’re super helpful for a series as big as this. Keep up the great work!

[@TPerez1021]

This whole page is amazing I'm new to the series, but it seems super interesting to me.

[@zillo1600]

Ash is a character that really surprised me. He is so well written. I love him.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Agreed, very good character!

[@JackReaperQ]

I dunno. He's one of the few trails characters that really annoyed me, to the point that i never used him in any roster unless game made me to...

[@buttertoast1146]

@@JackReaperQ Cause his attitude?

[@JackReaperQ]

@@buttertoast1146 mostly. For me Ash just felt like a discount version of Crow, with hardly any of Crow's positive traits. Plus(though probably that's a bit dumb thing to dislike) just how new class 7 got pushed to spotlight while old 7s benched for the most part...

[@buttertoast1146]

@@JackReaperQ I agree, plus the whole curse being the cause of everything was too much, along with everyone saying give it your all every 2 minutes. Cold steel 1 is my favorite out of the 4

[@salsamonkey65]

I love Aurelia, but I think Olivert will always be my favorite

[@Hutchdh]

Olivert is my favorite too

[@evil_cupcake2386]

I don't think I can make top 10 list, but Altina is definetly one of the best. Her behavior on first games was not great, but from CS3 she's really became lovely girl. And the scene, where she rushes to hug Rean in CS4 was so adorable, that even I couldn't contain tears of joy.

[@TheKisekiNut]

The development she gets in the second half of Cold Steel is amazing to witness, top tier character. :)

[@dots7895]

One of my favorite character after finally catching up to CS 4 is definitely Kevin because i just love his story, Lloyd because of his struggle and determination fighting for crossbell, and Cedric because i really excited for his development in the future

[@TheKisekiNut]

Cedric is a good shout! I still don't like him, but doesn't mean I'm not interested in his future role.

[@rilkecadmus5143]

Brings me so much joy to see Doobs make the rankings, I have trouble assigning numbers but she definitely is in my top 5.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Her role in CS IV is brilliant, and actually very important in my mind.

[@rilkecadmus5143]

She's been one of my favorites since I first met her in CS2, the fact she was playable in CS4 sent me over the moon

[@Wabasi]

I was genuinely surprised with Alan Richard. I remember initially thinking he was just a generic trope villain throughout the first game but his redemption and more importantly the direction of opening up an intel agency was great. It took me off guard and I was all for it. I especially liked how you'd see inklings of his work in the crossbell arc.

[@sunderer8]

*sees 5 of the top 6 characters come from the Sky series* I see you're a man of culture as well

[@TheKisekiNut]

I love the casts of Crossbell and Cold Steel, but the Sky characters are just written so well!

[@phantomslay5612]

To me, all the Kiseki series do something slightly better than the others. Trails in the Sky: Best characters overall Trails of Zero/Azure: Best story overall Trails of Cold Steel: Best gameplay/presentation overall I love all these games and find them severely underrated.

[@matthewy2j]

Glad you included antagonists / former antagonists as well, I think a lot of people gloss over really well written antagonists of the series.

[@Seblar87]

Great video! My favorites would probably be Estelle, Rixia, Renne, Fie, KeA, Laura, Loyd, Tio, Arianrhod, Joshua, but it changes a bit over time

[@t-vann48]

10. Rean Shwarzer 9. Fie Claussel 8. Tio Plato 7. Juna Crawford 6. Olivert Reise Arnor 5. Randy Orlando 4. Estelle Bright 3. Crow Armbrust 2. Renne Bright 1. Altina Orion

[@Xpalzin]

Fav Character: Olivert hands down followed by Rean, Joshua, Lloyd, Estelle, Toval, Claire, Alan, Cassius and Crow. Honorable mentions: VALIMAR, Aurelia Le Guenn, Laura Arseid , Scherazad Harvey, Altina, Juna and Kurt, Sergai and Victor Arseid. This is actually a difficult list to make as every time I play through the series, my choices change slightly.

[@joeyisabsb1]

Love Olivert, in my top 5 for sure. Estelle is still my favorite overall.

[@PhotonSieve]

Kevin near the top. Displaying your great tastes as usual.

[@HenshinHero11]

Very good list my man. Your top 3 are absolutely worthy of being there. My top 10 in no particular order Altina Fie Estelle Kevin Olivert Tio Gilliath Renne Towa Jusis

[@SpitfireFK4189]

Nice list sir! And I loved your takes on each one of them, they are indeed really solid characters. In my case, it would be a heavy burden to put a top 10 together...mostly because after I try to do it I can feel the guilt for leaving characters out lol

[@sladelius6174]

So.. Yeah. We all should do this. 10: Fie 9: Sara 8: Kevin 7: Musse 6: Randy 5: Tio 4: Rean 3: Ash 2: Joshua 1: Crow

[@richardwilliam2824]

While watching the list I felt like you were putting my top 10 there. Amazing list with correct reasons. I do had to skip to some extent considerating I am waiting for april 9th for the cold steel 4 and there are some spoilers. Still it's good to remember all characters along with their stories.

[@Ratorss]

Nice video! Mine is very different except Osborne and Altina, she is my number one character in Trails. I can't wait for the Kuro no Kiseki protagonists. I have faith in Falcom to bring us many more awesome characters like these.

[@formy52]

Great video, as always! I've just finished the 3rd (after Trails from Zero; it's an unusual play order) to prep myself for CS3 and CS4 and my goodness is Kevin and Renne's arc enhanced through playing it. Star Door 15 is brutal, all the more for playing Zero first and getting a taste of what was going on in these lodges. But learning about Kevin's backstory is really interesting and he definitely deserves his placement. I'd personally give an honourable mention to Ries Argent, who somehow manages to be the 'new guy' in The 3rd but somehow manages not to get swallowed up by the returning cast and proves herself a great character in her own right.

[@k.s854]

The lack of Gilbert on everyone's list is disturbing... Jokes aside, Some of my personal characters would be(this was really hard to choose): Rean, Kevin, Lloyd, Estelle, Joshua, Crow, Altina, Olivier, Laura, Jusis(in no particular order) Lots of CS/Class VII bias from me, it's just overall the cast I'm attached to the most, but I really do love every arc's characters. My favorites list changes around a lot lol, it never stays the same for too long, Some honorable Mentions: Tio, Randy, Fie, Richard, Kloe, Osbourne, Loewe, Sara, Musse, Machias(there are much more, but this list would go on forever so I'll just end it here)

[@babaXIII]

This inspired me to write mine, and I noticed just how freaking difficult it was to decide. Cold Steel has been my favorite arc so far, and I'm close to finishing Zero. #1 Estelle. She's just the best, I love everything about how she is and how she brings hope and light to the franchise. Her relationship with Joshua is cute, but it's with Renne and KeA that I REALLY loved her. #2 Towa. I just love this character, she's so fun and nice. #3 Fie. She has a fun personality to read and her progression has been cute. #4 Laura. This one surprised me cause I went from thinking she was annoying to really liking her really fast. #5 Rean/Lloyd. I'm cheating here, but I really like both of them. Their similarities also make me put them here together. #6 Renne. She has probably the most interesting arc in the series. #7 Sara. If it weren't for the creep factor of teacher x student I'd totally ship her and Rean. She's awesome. #8 Agate. I just love BFS in general, but I like his attitude and despite the weirdness, I like seeing him with Tita because of how people tease her in a way that's similar to Lloyd, but also the exact opposite. It's cute, as long as it stays cute. #9 Joshua. By himself he's kind of the usual "edgier" protagonist, but because of his relationship with Cassius, Estelle and Renne he's become so much more. #10 Angelica. Pfft, can you fucking imagine? #10 Sharon. Battle maid assassin that is sassy and caring, what's not to love?

[@zangy3748]

What the people who wrote the stories do so well is displaying the struggles and despair alot of the characters feel throughout the journey. They did an amazing work with displaying Reans underlying depression that in a sense made him accepting the role of a sacrifice. He felt worthless and thought he's just a danger to the people he cares for but still wanted to protect them as much as possible. Cold Steel 4 made it the most obvious and one of the bonding scenes with Laura really put it all on display with her even choking him iirc. She was insanely pissed that he was so eager to just give up his life despite all the people who helped him throughout the series and care for him deeply and that some of them even fell in love with him, herself included. I also really loved watching Altina grow into a person so much so that I'm pissed at Falcom that they didn't go the "adoption" route. But in a sense I can understand why they didn't. With all the missions they went on together they feel more like siblings in a way. And before I talk about the people in Zero and Azure, I want to finish the latter first. But I really like Arianrhod and Duvalie alot. I just wished that we got more time to talk to Arianrhod during Cold Steel 4. I also love Towa alot. She's working her ass off for literally everyone while hiding the pain she suffers from losing her parents and never having a chance to truly say goodbye to them until CS4. I also adore Elise for not letting Reans overprotectiveness to be a burden to her and express herself, learning swordsmanship from different people and becoming a capable combatant (ultimately in Riverie) who doesn't need Rean to protect her since that moment back in their childhood.

[@graidentcheif1746]

My top 10 1. Rean 2. Osborne 3. Renne 4. Rufus 5. Loewe 6. Estelle 7. Olivier 8. Crow 9. Randy 10. Ash

[@mahmoudtaiseer1120]

man your videos always make me happy and i cant wait for the next one thank you thank you all the love :)

[@TheKisekiNut]

Thank you for the kind words mate! :)

[@Zerberos22]

my favourite male character is prince Olivert, I am still hoping that he will get the mc role for once, or at least that he is move available as a character in the following games

[@personhi1011]

That would be awesome but also seems kinda unlikely as he was a main party member in the Sky Arc

[@enigmaarcs8559]

He has many moments in Trails in the Sky. Hitting on women and men (mainly Agate, Joshua, Muller) alike. It's impossible to not like him.

[@Iamtheamazingmrg]

When I first started playing the Trails series, Olivier (as was) bugged me. By then end of Sky FC, I was chuckling to myself every time he opened his mouth. Not because he was that funny, but because if everybody else's reaction to him. Now all it takes is the strum of his lute in the background of a scene and I'm grinning like an idiot. I still think the text of his "My Jormungand Don't Want None" quest in Cold Steel 2 is my favourite mission text.

[@shadowsquid1351]

Awesome list, Kevin & Crow are my favorites so far.

[@johnhp6565]

Pretty much nailed this one, you have most of my top 10 characters present in your list. I really thought we would see Kevin and Ries in CS4 and I was very disappointed they didn't include them.

[@TheKisekiNut]

They'll be back soon, I'd like to think Falcom wouldn't pull the rug from under us.

[@TheNOODLER100]

S tier: Estelle, Rean, Olivier, Crow, Osborne A tier: Altina, Renne, Aurelia, Fie (one of my favs), Lloyd, Kevin Graham (we demand more!), Ash, Alan Richards, Klaudia (def a fav), B tier: Viscount Arseid and Laura (among my favs), Emma and Vita, Anton and Ricky, Joshua, Zin Vanthek, Tita and Agate, Professor Russel, McBurn (the most fabulous villain), Duvalie, Millium, Randy (a real man's man), Schera Harvey, Marquis Hyarms, Sara Valestine, Alisa, Sharon Kreuger, Juna, Kurt, KeA, Ries Argent, Elie Macdowell, Most characters are found on the B tier. This is a very solid place to be! Only a handful are noticeably above the B level or below it, which I've outlined. C tier: Loewe (the lord of edginess), Elliot, Gaius, Toval (not bad, just not as noteworthy), Musse, Cedric, Patrick Hyarms, Elise, Walter the Direwolf, Weissman, D tier: Lechter (I'll never forgive him for his treatment of Klaudia), Angelica, Duke Dunan, Gwen and Irene Reinford, Vulcan, Scarlet (haven't played Hajimari yet), Joachim from Zero, Siegfried (who the hell is he fooling??), Shirley Orlando, F tier: Gideon (anyone remember that bastard? oh yeah! him), Duke Cayenne

[@victorparedes2319]

This one's great list

[@cabbagelover]

i agree Fie A tier, if u put Evasion stat she untouchable. but still Emma is ma babe, best nuker and waifuable ~

[@jojonta2119]

Imagine not having Randy on S tier smh

[@fishbb292]

Seeing the Sky gang really touched my heart!!!

[@graphik4498]

Tio Crow and duvalie are my favorites, good video.

[@Pod042b]

I 100% agree with your choice of Renne as the best Trails character....honestly she's probably even more than that, she's one of my alltime favorite characters in all media, I'm so happy Estelle and Joshua never gave up on her and that she's now a member of the Bright family. I'm always excited to see her again in new trails games.

[@dannysimion]

I agree in that of all of Trails of Cold Steel - Altina is the strongest and most engaging in storyline. Now with that said, I wanna go and play the older titles just to see these fantastic characters that you mentioned. I've heard about them and know a bit of their backstory through light research but man I wanna see the gameplay and the character development for them especially Renne! She's intriguing.

[@personhi1011]

Loved the inclusion of Toval

[@TheKisekiNut]

Toval gets it good in the additional literature.

[@cloudsclutchcorner]

Its a really Solid list, I like the backup points on each of them on why their up on Your Upper Echelon of Top10

[@pite9]

My top 10 is probably, in order: Rean, Lloyd, Altina, Kevin, Renne, Olivert, Crow, Tita, Sara, Estelle. I also really like Richard and Duvalie, but I think I need to see more of them before I put them this high.

[@Daylenify]

The Sky Cast was so fucking strong. I hope Kuro will step up to this after Class VII failed it for me. NEW Class VII was good but still behind the Sky or SSS Group for me. O

[@Ragefat]

Finally finished CS4 and watched the video. Gotta say man, I can't do such a thing as choosing a favorite character, can round a bunch of the ones I like more but singling one out is impossible for me.

[@brahmantyoihsan5938]

My favorite is Arianrhod. Just imagine, a smokin' hot and badass woman, so loyal she still loves the man she fell for even two centuries after his death.

[@davidtimmer596]

Oh, yeah. Definitely up there.

[@lelouch6865]

My favorite is Osborne And second most favorite is Olivier

[@Olphas]

I wouldn't even know how to begin to compile such a list ... but I can see why you put it like it is. It made me think: Who else would I put on the list from the main cast (besides Estelle of course). And I think it would be Juna. I love Juna. I love her passion. Some scenes of hers were so emotionally gripping and strong. She together with Kurt were my favorite and most effective team in battle. She would definitely get a spot on my list.

[@davidtimmer596]

Oh, definitely. Cold Steel 4 made Juna shine immensely when she stepped up and gave both her classmates and Old Class VII a verbal wake up slap to get Rean back.

[@FatherShnazzy]

This reminds me that we still have that CS3/4 Character poll coming up at somepoint

[@EbeeDeeby]

A respectable list, right on Kiseki Nut

[@40warrior]

It feels weird seeing a Top 10 and not being shocked on any of them. I think that shows the brilliance of Trails when you can easily imagine 25-30 characters in a personal top 10. For me though, I'll always be a fan of the Brights #1-#3 (Estelle, Renne, Joshua in that order), but that whole Sky cast is something special. Bringing them out in CS4 was a blast!

[@davidtimmer596]

Osborne, Arianrhod, Emma, Rose, Laura, Altina, Elliot, Jusis, Rean, and Juna. Juna's my personal favorite, because she's the every girl who grows into a strong and capable leader.

[@Crazy30311]

McBurn would be my favorite Anytime he appears there is always that tension in the air Also still curious about the divergent law

[@kobayashibrynhild9622]

Me too. I want to know what the Beyond is like.

[@TheKisekiNut]

He's definitely a character I'm interested in.

[@buttertoast1146]

@@jj8762 that wasn't really him lol

[@thecognitiverambler8911]

Fantastic list. Making a top 10 from such a fantastic cast is no easy chore. One of my favorites not mentioned here is Scherazard - I seem to be an army of one in my love for Schera. She's a fun and layered character with a full range of personality - all while not being a character with a *ton* of spotlight, she's the big sis to our starting duo and she was just great to be around. Smart, funny, seductive, and she knew how to be serious too. Well crap, for me, here goes: 1. Joshua 2. Olivier 3. Randy 4. Scherazard 5. Richard 6. Renne 7. Crow 8. Cassius 9. Giliath 10. Loewe Yes, my "Sky" bias is showing. Can't help myself. :)

[@thecognitiverambler8911]

Point of note: I'm up through CSIII. I start CSIV when it drops on Steam in a couple weeks. List is of course subject to change there. I skipped Duvalie when you said IV had some stuff - but I really do like her, so she could very well be in the running!

[@Chronosassassin]

Excellent list dude, there's no way I could choose just ten. I can count the number of characters I DON'T like on one hand.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Bang on! The amount of characters I dislike are miniscule compared to the ones I favour.

[@Thunder93ita]

Estelle, Tio, Loewe and Kevin best characters hands down. I absolutely love kiseki and i’m glad i found this channel, the only thing i dont like about franchise is the fact that nobody ever dies. They started fantastic with the death of a very relevant character like Loewe, then stirred down the path of “nobody dies” despite fighting 1000 times vs the likes of McBurn, Ahrianrod, divine knights etc. To me, the deaths of main characters make the whole game more realistic, and makes us more attached to some people and their story. The fact that every time they fight a mortal battle, telling each other that they’re gonna kill them, and then a deus ex machina saves everyone is kinda lame because it makes it look like your average game where the author is scared to hurt the players feelings.

[@jerrygottwald2997]

idk... (SPOILER): Gilliath seems to be pretty dead. Same as Arianrhod.

[@k.s854]

@@jerrygottwald2997 Unirronically (CS4 spoilers) CS4 had the most character deaths in the series: Rutger, Franz, Arianrhod, and Osbourne

[@Thunder93ita]

I play on steam so sorry, i don’t wanna spoil CS4 yet so i cant read your answers. Bad guys’ deaths don’t really count though.

[@Thunder93ita]

@@jj8762 yes, but he redeemed himself in the end, he wasn’t 100% good but you get what i mean. Arianrhod ended in a somewhat similar way i assume (i accidentally self-spoilered some fragments months ago). Even among the bad guys very few die. And the few who died were the coolest ones. My point was that in fighting a top tier organization like ouroboros is unlikely that the “good guys” have no casualties.

[@Thunder93ita]

@@jj8762 oh i don't doubt they have, and i can't wait to find out. I just think that a few deaths here and there would spice up the series you know xD

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

My top 10 1. Olivert 2. Osborne 3. Phantom Thief B 4. Randy 5. Duke Dunon`s butler 6. Kloe 7. Musse 8. Rixia 9. KeA 10. Lloyd

[@Comrade_C]

seeing our dear lord and savior chancellor giliath osborne on this list made me happy your number one pick was pretty obvious and totally understandable her arc was very well executed and I'm totally looking forward to see her in some capacity in Calvard again

[@TheKisekiNut]

Osborne is top tier, we all know it! :)

[@the_jester3096]

Very good video! Didn't like Duvalie all that much in the first two games because it seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders but was blind to see the errors of her ways because of loyalty. Then came CSIV and she really surprised me. Now one of my favourite chars!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Indeed! CS IV did her good.

[@garnetcess4652]

Dang. Trails really have so many great characters

[@TheKisekiNut]

Truth!

[@desikira43]

Great video and list, these characters are so well written 🤍

[@TheKisekiNut]

A ridiculous amount of top tier characters! Only Trails can achieve that. :)

[@crusader_325]

Hope to see Renne in the next titles! Almost all the characters were very well written but man.. Renne really tops it!

[@haloffx]

Musse is one of my favorites but I feel like they missed the mark with her in some parts, her whole thing of being 10 steps ahead of everyone around her? Awesome. Her sense of will to the point of self sacrifice? Amazing. Her lust for rean being SO extra no one even gives it a second glance anymore? Overplayed, but it’s entertaining enough I guess. I feel like they missed a lot of chances to develop her ability/intellect on just how smart she is thar sometimes it comes off as her being smart solely Bc they needed someone to explain story beats, that aside, she’s a totally cutie design wise, monster gameplay wise and a pretty solid character.

[@ashleyward3277]

Great list, its a real challenge to whittle it down to just 10 characters. I need to play through the Crossbell games at some point to get to the conclusion of Renne's arc from the Sky games. I am a huge fan of Kevin and I hope that he returns in the future (I'm sure he will if the church is more involved), and Estelle is still my favourite protagonist in Trails. I like Alan Richard's story arc too, though I'm not sure if we'll ever see him again. I'd add Prince Olivert/ Olivier, Sara and Ash to my list as well.

[@seanm9668]

My list: 1. Fie Claussell 2. Everyone else

[@Ryloxis]

A fellow man of culture

[@tylerwhite7833]

I still wish that Zin Vathek got more to his story. I always loved the big, lovable brother type of characters and Zin matched that so perfectly with his demeanor and character. He just didn't get " much" his way as far as character development or backstory. Hoping to see him get at least somethin in the coming game(s).

[@TheKisekiNut]

He kind of gets shafted because he's mixed in with some of the best characters in the whole Series. If he was in any of the other arcs then I'm sure he would be more loved.

[@abarr2951]

I was hoping Musse would make the list but overall I loved your list

[@abarr2951]

Musse Egret from Cold Steel 3&4

[@no_bs_science]

My top 10 would be: 1. Estelle - she's just the best all way round 2. "Secret Disciple" - don't want to spoiler. But she is awesome in all aspects. Nice design, cool story, neat abilities 3. Sara - awesome behavior/story/design/involvement in the story 4. Millium - nice character development through the game, great impact on the story 5. Kevin - charismatic character, cool enigmatic background 6. Arianrhod - good deep backstory, beautiful design, unparalleled warrior 7. Randy - cool all-around character with a dark aura 8. Juna - nice growth through the game, but put her mostly because of her effective battle skills 9. McBurn - just neat, he is still an open book though we uncovered a lot in Cold steel 1-4. 10. Wazy - great character, great jokes, pretty skilled, enigmatic, opens up through the games Also, all one blade characters look dope (Anelace, Cassius Bright, Rean, etc.).

[@Dxwill10]

CSIV comes out on steam in a week or so. Gonna revisit this video once I finish it. I got to Duvalie in your list, and didn't want any spoilers, I always had a soft spot for her. Can't wait to see how her arc culminates.

[@SamHarrison2099]

Another great video - I always had this feeling that Toval was clutch. Need to find the books and read them!

[@TheKisekiNut]

They're well worth the read. The in-game novels especially (not just Carnelia).

[@anderxale1]

Scherazard has got to be my fav! Followed by Olivier.

[@TheSarste]

Nice! I wholeheartedly agree with Renne being number one. I'm pleased Loewe was in there too. My personal list would contain Randy and Garcia as well as McBurn and Campanella. I'd have to put a bit more thought in to it before I could compile a proper top 10 list though!

[@gachalibra9243]

Only played Sky FC, SC, Cold Steel I, II, and in chapter 6 of the third but I feel like this list is predicting my future top ten characters for this series. Expect Renne. No way crow is getting dethroned

[@Kira-Nerys]

1.) Randy Orlando 2.) Rutger Claussell 3.) Crow Armbrust 4.) Kevin Graham 5.) Cassius Bright 6.) Olivert Riese Arnor 7.) Thomas Lysander 8.) Gaius Worzel 9.) McBurn 10.) Ries Argent

[@nickmaestro]

Le Guin, best character. An OP one person army who says whatever she wants. On another note, I platinumed CS4. But that secret ending, holy crap!!! That was a Xenogears/Xenosaga 3 + Star Ocean 3 kinda plot twist. So now I'm going to play Nayuta No Kiseki to see if my theory is correct. Do McBurn and Towa have a connection to Nayuta No Kiseki? Hopefully Hajimari will address this.

[@kugansivasakthy2091]

I don't mind spoilers but I am curious what are Towa and McBurn's possible connections to Nayuta?

[@nickmaestro]

@@kugansivasakthy2091 I just started Nayuta yesterday and a few things immediately popped up. 1. In the opening scene, Nayuta states that you can only travel so far on the continent. If you go to far, you can't come back. 2. That is similar to what, CS4 spoiler, Emma and Alisa say when talking about McBurn. As Rean correctly predicted he is from another world in the final dungeon. 3. The name Herschel, Towa's last name, is the name of the residence of the main character in Nayuta No Kiseki.

[@victorparedes2319]

Creha is the grandmaster Also Hajimari won't address anything about the other world

[@nickmaestro]

@@victorparedes2319 I’m on Chapter 1. If Chera is the Grandmaster, she does fit the bill physically, then I’m guessing Zemuria is some kind of lost world or lost continent. Or maybe a simulated world/back up copy world. Just my initial hunches.

[@victorparedes2319]

@@nickmaestro hehe well actually I haven't played nayuta, but I read that theory and then I searched for some info into that game, and it seems kind of possible. And if she's not the GM, then we can almost be sure that both games are in the same "universe" and are connected in some way. Specially by keeping in mind, one of the last interviews with de director of the trails series about hajimari ( and kuro no kiseki a little bit) , when he was asked about the possibility about Nayuta's game be in the same world as the kiseki series, he said that he can't talk about that or something like that, I don't remember the exact words, but it wasn't a straight "NO"

[@loganuyeda7916]

As much as this video reminded me of Falcom's great characters, it was even moreso a reminder of Falcom's great music. After that short hook at the start of Loewe's entry, I had to stop the video and listen to Silver Will again... a couple of times.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Speaks the truth! A collection of bangers.

[@jimmynicol7942]

I felt the same when introduced to #1. I initially thought they were generic and tropey, only for them to hint at what happened to them just at the end of their first game, with the reality of it feeling like a gut punch. After that, all I've wanted is for them to get a happy ending. I would love to see their story continue post-CS4. And yeah, they're my favourite character too, followed by Duvalie and Estelle. I haven't really thought up a top ten list.

[@KangQi]

Tried but can only muster up to a top 6 up to CS IV because there are just too many different characters I like for different stuff, which can probably tie them all at 7th overall. 1. Estelle 2. Renne 3. Millium 4. Lloyd 5. Juna 6. Rixia Many Tied: Joshua, Cassius, Tita, Josette, Olivier, Tio, Wazy, Cao Lee, KeA, Rean, Sara, Towa, Roselia, Vita, Wallace, Aurelia, Duvalie, Rosine, "Mildine", Jingo & Cerberus. Other Characters = Something along the lines of honourable honourable mentions

[@narius_jaden215]

Osborne is an amazing character :). I think the fact that he was such a stoic, strong character. I love that he was more than just a puppet. P.s Kevin needs to be back in the series now. I miss the man so much lol.

[@ruboygaming1708]

Since I haven't played any of the games before Cold Steel arc, I had no idea Renne's backstory was that dark. I can see why she's your favorite. Rean is still my main mans though! Best protagonist!

[@kugansivasakthy2091]

I see Toval in your list....... I'm happy lol 🙌

[@brattyneet1571]

Olivert... Nuff said. The dude fought an unwinnable fight from the beginning, but fought until the end, bringing one seed to another, from Liberl to Crossbell to Thors.

[@dkacc3535]

My top 10 Cold Steel character(play cold steel 1-3, waiting 4 at pc) 10. McBurn 9. Duvalie 8. Crow 7. Fie 6. Sara 5. Rean 4. Towa 3. Juna 2. Altina 1. Olivert

[@Yoshi-bt7mg]

YAY! Renne Bright is also my #1 favorite character aswell & for the same reasons you mentioned in this video 🥰💜💜💜😊

[@Kazuchi35]

I only played and finished the Cold Steel games, butI already have a hard time putting together a top 10. I have a few characters in mind though, but I'm not putting them in order: Altina (her development is insane and she becomes one of the most likeable characters to me) Juna (the heart and soul of New Class VII, she has a really strong personality, but with a lot of room to grow, which she does) Celine (she feels a bit like a plot device at times, but she's genuinely likeable and she's always there for Rean, thumbs up for the tsun cat) Rean (regardless of his background or wether he's tropey or not, it would be rude to take away his achivements and how much of a genuinely nice person he is) Alisa (I gravitated towards her the most since CS1. It didn't bother me that she clearly felt like the "main girl", her development and strong personality grew on me, not to mention I like her design the most out of the original Class VII's female cast. Her private conversations with Rean are very memorable, especially that one. You know which one I'm talking about - you show that a lot in your videos-) Sara (I always figured she was a lot more than she let on. I highly doubt she was that generic lazy teacher trope and I was right. I also love how she just casually flirts with Rean at first and teases him, but as time goes on, she starts seeing him as a man and gets flustered at times) Like you said, there are way too many good characters, like Towa, but we could just stay and talk about them for days and not get bored. Part of the reason why I love this series so much.

[@zackaryslawtandnuggetfan653]

Me seeing Toval in Top 10 list: 😮 😍 Keep being the awesome reliable guy you are Toval, you'll get your own game eventually 😭

[@ambulance-kun5915]

trails is the type of game where almost nobody truly dies that, if you are asked to make top 10 saddest deaths from all trails games you won't even manage to fill all 10 spots I'm not complaining tho since the characters are amazing

[@pichonCalavera]

My Top 3 are: Sara, Estelle, Renne. After those I don't have a particular order but must be: Tita, Agate, Olivert, Klaudia, Zin, Tio, Noel, Randy, Lloyd, Elie, Rixia, Zeit, Laura, Fie, Towa, Aurelia, Claire, Ash, Musse, Juna

[@elaowczarczyk7143]

For me Olivier is first as he always make me laugh through the Sky games. 2nd is Kevin 3rd is Kloe

[@neogamer6461]

I guessed that Renne would be your favourite character. She has one of the most tragic backstories out of any Trails character. This is an interesting list though. I agree with most of your choices though. I haven't really read any manga for the Trails series, just the books from the games. Kevin was a fantastic character though with great development. It's a shame we don't get to see a lot of him.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Yeah I've mentioned in passing a few times that Renne is my favourite, and she'll likely stay there for a long time. Maybe even till the end of the Series!

[@tiotot9418]

A lot of this list i can agree with . i have found through my own play throughs that the more complex the character and the more i can resonate with their story the more intrigued i am with them and the higher they were on my personal list . For me Tio is tops with Renne being 2nd , Kevin is probably 3rd with Loewe being 4th , Joshua didnt really grow on me until SC and move up into my personal top 5 , Olivert is probably 6th due to how well he balances his travels through Liberal and allows it to inspire him to develop Class VII once you get into the Erebonia Arc , 7th For me ironically has to be Lechter Arundel, and the reasoning is that he is one of the only Ironbloods to span across all of the Arcs and his persona is very mysterious and mystical , from his times at Jenis Academy right on up to his observations into the Crossbell Underworld and then eventually his involvement as in Ironblood once you get into the Erebonia arc leaves a lot of wanting to know what he did in between the times we saw him in the Sky and Crossbell Arc before stepping into the role we know him for in the Erebonia Arc , 8th for me is Fie Clausel, Primarily since she has a similar backstory to Tio and Renne Sans being drugged and put through a brothel ,, She loses her family , joins a jaegar corps and take that training and becomes the Class VII butt kicker and Bracer that we love come TOCS III and IV .. 9th has to be Arianrhod. Her backstory going from being a patron saint to a total badass come the Crossbell Arc i am sure struck fear into all of us once you faced her and then the rematch in TOCS III along with her steely and methodic personality makes her s solid character in my book . and i would say my 10th . is McBurn . Simply because he can go from one extreme to another very quickly .. from just being utter lazy to ready to nuke the continent in a second . i would love to see Falcom dig into his backstory a lot more.

[@cryders2311]

My top 10 1-Rean 2-Loyd 3-crow 4-Laura 5-Sara 6-Joshua 7-estelle 8-Toval 9-Agate 10-Aurelia

[@ordine8142]

Aurelia,Vita,Olivert will be my top characters for sure

[@cloudsclutchcorner]

Duvie I honestly didn't or couldn't take seriously, outside of some Tsundere-type tropes which she displayed in CS2 & CS3, but I loved her entire CS4 arc, they could have easily not included her as a Guest or as a member of the "semi"-main party. But its dope when Duvalie, who literally only has St. Lianne as her guidepost, maybe Ines & Ennea, but she still wasn't just remaining a Blind Follower at all, I used Duvie against Arianrhod..as well as the Stahlritter. After Not liking Duvie in CS2, and her being "Meh" in CS3 for me, I actually like her, quite alot. Her character doesn't stray too far from her archtype, but thru the Journey of CS4, there's quite alot of Dialogue & Ideals I find interesting both the talk between Various Characters from several schools of swordsmanship. So Duvie Sparred with Loewe, is the Fastest & has gotten training by Lianne. I like how they made her crafts, like having 3 crafts of 3 elemental varieties, she's actually really fun to Play

[@kobayashibrynhild9622]

She was annoying in CS2 and 3, but she was adorable in 4.

[@cloudsclutchcorner]

@@kobayashibrynhild9622 yeah I agree on that 100%. I would say there's definitely more to her in CS4 then being Adorable lol, but she has those cute & innocent moments by virtue of her personality

[@lordhades9759]

Mine are mostly from cold steel but I don't care: 10. Olivert 9. Sharon 8. Loewe 7. Altina 6. Osborne 5. Claire 4. Fie 3. Mcburn 2. Laura 1. Rean Shout out to Sara, Crow, Joshua and Tio