The JRPG That Rivaled My Love For Yakuza - My Trails/Kiseki Journey

[@king_recon]

Duuuuuuuuuude! First and foremost thank you for all that you do and for this wonderful video that will get more eyes on the greatness! And thank you so much for the shoutout man and the kind words, it means a lot. We Trails/Yakuza fans are going to be eating good when we get Daybreak 2 and Majima One Piece in back to back weeks!

[@godzilla4189]

Saw you on the first vid for NicoB's Trails in the Sky 3rd LP's comment section. Was genuinely not expecting this, but its fitting, it feels.

[@FlameOfUdun96]

As much as I want to watch, I am only in the middle of Sky the Third as of writing this 💀, just know that I am with you in spirit and I’m already in love with this franchise despite having a LONG way to go! For those of you who are curious, PLEASE consider checking them out! Sky the 1st is getting a remake soon!

[@gokudoni]

This may be the most heartfelt video you've done thus far... and it's genuinely phenomenal! I hope this is the beginning of more videos in a similar vein (you openly discussing more media you enjoy). Brilliant work 🙌🙌

[@Nexus_427]

Knew you were a big fan of Trails for quite some time now, but it's great seeing a video entirely on it, this series deserves a lot of love.

[@itsz3lus427]

Ok I did it, just purchased Trails in the Sky. Been sitting on the fence about this series for about a year now. Wish me luck and thanks for the recommendation!

[@devilleon7]

Hell yeah! I hope you have as good of a time as I did, enjoy!

[@pokekiller787x]

I hope you enjoy what you play! I recommend taking your time with these games, and really taking it all in. There's so much effort and love poured into the world and characters.

[@niles8576]

and another falls into the trap that is trails. you will never escape it and neither will your friends. hope you enjoy it, its my favorite series of all time

[@mysetlist2118]

Keep in eye out for Anton he's a minor background character that shows up in every game up to reverie.

[@RaifSeverence]

If it helps, go in as if you are reading a book. Albeit a book in videogame form. It was advertised as a story rpg in japan for a reason afterall

[@rcrude8866]

Woah is that Mr. Comment of the day man? Its still so wild to know two people I watch alot have atleast acknowledged eachother. Still only at 3rd, for obvious reasons, so I will eventually catch up lol

[@Jothaka]

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the daybreak cast. It was wild to play AS the mentor character for a change, I don't remember any games that do that. Also we heard about Bergard / The roaring Lion for the first time in the Salt Pale door within 3rd as he was the first dominion on the scene there.

[@cius2112]

ok im just not gonna say anything lol

[@SeiyaTempest]

As a casual viewer of your Yakuza content, I only realised you were a Trails fan because of your comment on Nico's current LP (who actually introduced me to Yakuza years ago), so I'm glad to see a deep dive into your love for this incredible series.

[@oliverpease6719]

Trails for me is a lot like how I feel about Grandia. I can’t find experiences like those anywhere else

[@ReanXAlisa]

Never clicked on a video so fast before, it's been so damn cool to see this series blow up in the way it is has online because just a few years prior there really wasn't much i guess mainstream content before. I'm right with you in how Trails and Yakuza are basically my top two series at this point with Xenoblade following right after because there's nothing I love more about a series that is in love with itself and the obvious theme of legacy. Cold Steel 2 technically also has the chest dialouge but only for blue/trial chests and only if you don't have the right party members so you'll get a pun based on the characters it needs.

[@NinjaPopeXue]

Always appreciate a shout out to my boy King Recon. "Pure unadulterated passion" is a perfect descriptor for his content. I remember seeing your username in the comments of some Falcom Music Channel posts, some of which are dated quite a while back. Glad to see you found the inspiration to make this video. This underrated series needs more love!

[@fwbiocostw1938]

Thanks for streaming the trail franchise , if you didnt i would not have discovered my favorite game of all time (sky sc) Ps:we are still waiting for the final sky3rd stream ( we shall not forget)

[@kaivitee15]

Thank you so much for making this, I’ve always wanted a dedicated trails video from you!

[@stefanavious]

Starting the video with Vandalise Raid? PEAK ❤

[@MinhVo-ig7no]

The things that both Yakuza and Trails do so incredibly well that are the characters and how amazing their world-building is.

[@LilT2o00]

Yakuza and trails were back to back for me. Friend got me on Yakuza 0 during the pandemic. Burned all the way to yakuza 6 within a year (then played each one after on its release); when I finished up yakuza, another friend put me on trails; spent the next year burning all the way to cold steel 4, in wait of reverie. Getting daybreak 2 and yakuza in a week of each other is heart breaking like damn spread them out and give me time to finish one lmao idk what i'm going to do

[@sbfh014]

I've been blind to trails myself, only really experienced it through word of mouth, or most recently through nicob, and its definitely wild in terms of scope with its massive list of characters and story throughout each games, and I can definitely tell why people adore the series, and while its not for me atm, I would potentially like to try it out when the sky remake comes out later this year

[@elijahparish3763]

I will click on and like any video promoting the Trails series. I've been slowly going through the series for the last 2+ years, and it's far and away my favorite series of all time. I'm currently on CS4. Sky FC is one of my favorite games of all time, and I'm so glad it's getting a remaster so more people can appreciate this gem

[@Wladaas]

The title is literally me, great joy to see another enjoyer of the series.

[@tobyz12345]

You got me hooked to this series, when you streamed this back in 2018. Been slowly going through it, almost completed Cold Steel. Will watch the spoiler section once I’ve caught up.

[@Maineyy]

just caught up last month on all the english releases of trails and am on the same boat having yakuza, xenoblade and trails being my top series of all time

[@lawman9039]

Started the series way back in late 2020 and I'm almost caught up on the localized releases. Hyped for Daybreak 2, but Kai no Kiseki is going to be even more exciting! I remember looking for a JRPG series where a continuity like this existed and I'm so I'm so glad I found Trails, it feels so rewarding to see everything and everyone one is Zemuria evolve overtime

[@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE]

Got into trails in recent years and I've felt the same way. The Cold Steel games in particular have become some of my favorite games of all time and I'm excited to see where this crazy story goes next after Daybreak 1

[@Amlealok]

Great video! I got into the series in late 2022 and I haven't been the same since. I could listen to you talk about the series all day lol

[@pokekiller787x]

I'm nearing the end of Cold Steel 4. Thank you for shining more light on this beautiful series.

[@nutsberkintime]

The fact that ill have been a fan of this series since CS1 dropped in 2015 makes me feel so fucking old lmao This series truly is something else. It manages to enthrall me at its best, piss me off at its worst and make me laugh at its weirdest (this just sounds like im talking about Yakuza) almost always.

[@tomasgill935]

While I can’t watch all of this, massive respects to Leon for making content on other series he loves!

[@Jan_Havranek]

Everyone loves Estelle...thats why i would recommend to play from the beginning of the series and see her and other characters in later games. It feels so good to see characters from older arcs in the newer games and understand the context.

[@justinl8791]

Leon finally understood why we love Kiseki/Trails & consider it's writing to be leagues ahead of any western RPG barring Cyberpunk, Witcher & Balder's Gate. Which reminds me, I still gotta finish up Reverie & Azure before going to Daybreak/Kuro.

[@damagon647]

I swear i will watch this when ive caught up with the series, am currently on Cold Steel 3. So far its easily become one of my favourite series and i wish i had gotten into it earlier

[@devilleon7]

Really glad to hear you're having a good time :)

[@damagon647]

@devilleon7 thanks :) I'm loving CS3 so far, feels like everything across the series is finally coming together.

[@tholink1890]

I was surprised you streamed Daybreak and are a fan of the franchise. Trails has so many magical moments in the story and the characters not every rpg has for me. Every NPC has it's own story to tell and is not just someone who says the same line. They live their life and with progress they do something entirely different. And the music... THE MUSIC!!! is what i love to the fullest, not just in Trails, even Ys.

[@isaacdamptey1258]

I'm literally four hours into Trails from Zero as this dropped

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

I started with Cold Steel 1, but then spent the last 3+ years going back to the very beginning, and playing Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes 1 & 2, then the Gagharv trilogy, then the 5 Trails games before Cold Steel, then REplaying Cold Steel 1-4. It ended up being more than 1000 hours of gameplay. Now I'm back to playing new games in the series, and it will probably be another 2 years and 600+ hours of gameplay before I've played everything that's been released.

[@darkstrom6729]

trails was a very good surprise, right now I'm on cold steel 3 and I'm having fun ! (crossbell arc is my favorite)

[@ckn3481]

Sharing the love for trails!

[@nmugamer]

Yakuza and the Trails games are definitely my favourite story-based games, and games overall. I think I'd put the Trails series slightly above Yakuza, mainly because I didn't find any of the games mid, not even the cold steel arc. Yakuza had a few ehh games mainly 3 and 5 (Not bad but ehhh). Either way both franchises slap :D

[@MakotoMajima30]

im lucky enough to talk to the voice actors often and we joke about how good to dialogue is. Aaron and Vans “limp noodle” line was a funny meme. I know alot of VAs are friends and put their heart into the characters so I can personally see how the dialogue is just funny and genuine. I especially talk to Aaron Wei’s VA, Howard Wang and he is such a funny and good dude he loves his characters

[@TakerWesker1]

I started my Trails adventure with Cold Steel on the Vita. At the time, I was about to go overseas and wanted an RPG for the long flight and downtime. Completely fell for the series since. I've played them all now except for Sky Third (I had no access to it). I even made sure to get the PlayStation platinum for a few of them (Cold Steel 2 & 3). Trails for me is one of my all time favourite RPG series and I hope that Falcom gets the attention they deserve. Music is great, gameplay is great and story is vast. Every game is connected in some way to the wider world and is definitely worth a look. Great video, Leon.

[@suscat6301]

I looked at the thumbnail and i didn't expect it to be a devilleon video Well we do have time for some yapping why not

[@joaocbcneto]

I really hope the Sky remakes can get more people into this series, I really love it.

[@The56567878]

When some random npc (Anton) has a series long storyline that is more engaging than some games' entire plots, you know you have a good series And as a fellow translation/language nerd, I agree that Trails has some of the best localization in the industry. Heck, just seeing that they brought on the two guys who went through hell translating Sky 2 to come back and work on Daybreak 1 was enough to get me hyped for that game!

[@vajick]

i literally just started the trails series yesterday! i am a completionist and decided to try it out to take a break from my like 20th lost judgment legend playthrough but i am quickly realising that one does not simply "try" the trails series...i'll see you guys in a few years when im halfway done.

[@matttheshadowman2790]

I have over 1,400 hours put in to this series and I'm ready to play Daybreak 2 in the coming weeks... help, I'm stuck in the rabbit hole and Kondo won't let me go!

[@devilleon7]

We're in this together, you're not alone

[@Dranato.]

Funny how many Yakuza players also enjoy the Trails series. I'm personally waiting for Kuro II now ! That was a great video ! 😆

[@MayShip]

Leon is a Trails fan? You love to see it. Always glad when more people talk about this series.

[@r.d.drowned9332]

Actually picked up Sky 1 and 2 after I noticed you stream Daybreak. They're now sitting beside Kurohyou 1 and 2 as the most played games in my Psp library, to say the least...

[@KaitoTheRamenBandit]

What's funny about seeing this, is that Trails was actually the series I got into after catching up on the LaD series

[@PokemonaMoni]

I also started my Trails journey around 2014 and I didn't know what I was getting myself into, I just thought it was a nice, cozy RPG. I share a lot of your opinions. Daybreak is something special, I've been following the Japanese releases ever since CS4 and Kai no Kiseki was peak and I can't wait for the next game. It's nice to see more and more people talking about and playing this franchise.

[@fatmonkey9757]

Sounds interesting, ill probably pick it up next time it goes on sale

[@FSAPOJake]

I could see how both series could draw a similar audience. Both are known for extremely effectively re-using assets and keeping development costs in check. I'm also glad you actually played all the games. There are people that skip the old ones, and that's just insane to me.

[@captainskullkidd]

Just started my journey earlier this month. Beat Zero and currently going through Azure. And man I’m already hooked. (Don’t have a way to play the Sky games and FC is getting remade anyways so I’m watching NicoB’s let’s plays of them)

[@aerialdive]

Ive been on the fence about this series for a while. I love jrpgs (i have LAD7 100%'d due to my love for turn based jrpgs specifically) but honestly just from what ive heard you talk about i deffo wanna try them out once im done with my pokemon binge

[@aaronitodo2678]

Finished Act 1 of CS II yesterday. Crazy coincidence

[@massterglu]

ooo a new game for me to geek over

[@KingCyrus20]

Just finished my first playthrough of Cold Steel 2. I've been going for all achievements in every game, like I've done for Yakuza, so I'm diving straight into a nightmare NG+ run. The series has been great!

[@shiina4826]

funny how this popped up as ive been playing thru trails (on reverie now) after finishing the yakuza series and im loving it

[@DylanTackoor]

more trails? lets goooooo

[@LeoDLuffy]

I started playing the Trails series on your recommendation, and ho boy what a ride so far! I'm currently in the last chapter of Trais from Zero, so I still have the end of Crossbell and the whole of cold steel and beyond, I am savouring every moment of it. I am a long time Final Fantasy and Persona fan. Persona 5 still ranks in my top 3 games, and even then, Trails is building a special place in my heart. Yakuza is easily my favourite franchise at this point, and honesty, the Trails series is up and coming in second quite quickly. I'll be interested where it ends up once I'm up to date. After Trails from zero I am taking a break however as I played 4 pretty much back to back, and as much as I'm enjoying it I don't want to burn out I would rather take my time in such a fantastic series. Thank you for the reccomendation and I can't wait for Pirates Yarr next month 😀 . Keep up the great work and sorry I couldn't watch beyond spoiler territory as I don't want a thing spoilt whilst I am still playing through the first time 😁

[@nickmaestro]

I've played all the Western realized titles and am fully caught up. I love hearing others journey through Zemuria. Your point about Rean and Emma...spot on. As a team, they'd be near unbeatable in universe. But also how by Cold Steel 4 you realize how much Emma supported Rean, partly because of her duty, but also how Rean knew he needed to depend on her. That romance should have been written in instead of choice. Speaking of Jusis, I somewhat saw him as a dueteragnoist. End game, my team was Rean Emma Jusis and Fie, simply unbeatable. I'm looking forward to Daybreak II.

[@LargeToastie]

I would watch, but I'm currently going through Cold Steel 2, and have been loving every step. Mark my words though, I will return when I finish Daybreak in about 1 year.

[@Pandillatime3]

Wow, your just like me. Yakuza and Trails are my No. 1 and No. 2

[@Fastollis]

Hell yes. I’m in the middle of replaying Daybreak to prepare for Daybreak 2. Can’t wait to play it

[@therenegadegamer7422]

I was heavily considering stopping at Cold Steel 4 because of some bad experiences with the Fandom but when I saw you stream Daybreak I decided to give it and Reveire a chance And I'm really really glad I did because Daybreak was so amazing it's the only Trails game I've given a 10/10 to I love practically everything about it and I'm unbelievably hyped for Daybreak 2 in a few weeks

[@sapphire3084]

On Leon's favourite and least favourite characters, Elliot got the Kevin treatment - forgotten until somebody brings him up. XD

[@ABruh_Moment]

Van Arkride in the thumbnail we’re truly winning

[@devilleon7]

Peak protagonist

[@UltimateAlexX]

Yeah it's probably just as you said: If you've already seen peak then why settle for other games that provide less on that front? Heard many people having this exact thought after playing Witcher or Baldurs Gate and I don't really have a counter argument for this aside from maybe uh... If you're a gamer who likes RPGs you might as well play some others that aren't quite as peak right? Anyway I would've loved to see you play some of the games that are my personal peak like KH2 and FF10 but realistically speaking that's probably not in the cards so I'll end this ramble by saying thanks for confirming that collecting these games is certainly worth it. Definitely gonna play them all one day.

[@bucktae]

It great to see an another Sky fan. I also agree that Daybreak is the best first game in an arc. I can’t wait to replay the Remake in fall.

[@oOPrettywinxOo]

Love that you love this franchise, and I could repeat everything everyone else already said, but instead I am going to say: Did you just ignore New Class VII's existence entirely? How? 😆

[@cius2112]

funny enough i find the typical JRPG fan tends to either bounce off and be like super mad about it for some reason or begrudgingly carry on but constantly complain about it lol But I do see alot of Yakuza/Like a Dragon fans and Xenoblade fans who end up "getting it". Also I think if you like cozy slice of life games you might also enjoy it.

[@Nodnarb518]

Always wanted to get into this series. Might give sky a go on steam deck.

[@zetram00]

My first in the series was cold steel 1 and I randomly bought it because it was on sale. Didn’t know at the time it would become my favorite gaming series. If anyone is debating picking it up ( it is daunting) I assure you it’s worth it

[@tonixe5016]

1:07:09 this is why for gaius i wanted for him to be one of the returning characters in kai no kiseki because i believe they could've do him justice considering his relationship with one of the main cast in daybreak 1

[@Touma_S]

Great video , i believe the reason they split the first 2 sky games was to meet the planned release date

[@serene-illusion]

Watched up until the end of the non-spoiler section 😅 I got into Trails in the Sky in March 2024 and playing through this series has been an absolute blast. I'm currently on chapter 4 of Cold Steel 3 and planning to finish out to Daybreak 2 by hopefully end of this year. It's been really nice listening to you talk about your passion for Trails. While I've watched your Yakuza videos that pop in my recommended I didn't even know you were another fellow Trails fan until yesterday 😅 It definitely resonates with me a lot with how much we share in terms of what we like about this series. I played Persona 3 Reload after finishing Trails to Azure and MAN I was missing a lot of things that Trails had, that Persona (and Atlus games) don't. I still absolutely loved Persona 3 and finished it, but it definitely doesn't top Trails for me. Thanks so much for uploading this video man. I'll be sure to save the rest when I finish Daybreak 🫡

[@daysofhalcyon]

always down to watch someone else extol the virtues of this series, despite its flaws

[@Chumbv]

My favorite game series of all time

[@oostin7759]

I got into Trails in the Sky in 2017 after looking to spend some pocket money on a cheap game. My original Sky FC playthrough particularly sticks in my mind because I came to the final boss underlevelled and under equipped (Level 29 characters). it deadeass took me 6 and a half hours to beat it because of my own incompetency. I've played and supported every new PC release since then from day one and loved all of them apart from one. Needless to say, I think it was the best £2.50 I ever spent. XSeed pretty much killed themselves to get the Sky localisations out there for everyone and I couldn't be more thankful that did, they deserve all the appreciation they get. The one I didn't like out of all the games was Cold Steel 4, it got a particular trope I didn't like and spammed it to high heaven, more so than the other games ever did. It nearly put me off playing Reverie because of how much I disliked it's endings. Thankfully Reverie was peak and dampened that CS4 dislike I had. But yeah, don't let Cold Steel 4 being ass ever put you off from experiencing this amazing franchise, it's mad world building, interconnected universe and loveable characters are some of the best things I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Estelle and Lloyd will always be my goats.

[@DCBETTA]

Rivaled Yakuza??? Guess I’m picking up the trails games🥸

[@TechyOP_]

IF YOUR NOT A FAN OF THE WORDS!!! TRAILS FANS STAND UP!

[@roxas327]

Thanks for reminding me to finish trails in the sky bro I had it in my too lazy didnt finish bin 🥺

[@mintman3533]

Got into Trails with Cold Steel, went back and played the whole series. Sky 2nd is probably one of the best JRPG stories ever, if not the best. Sky 3rd and Daybreak are my personal favorites though. Trails, DQ, and Yakuza are my favorite series.

[@Charlton369]

Never clicked this video so fast.

[@theabyssfarer]

Hey Leon,glad you finally dropped a Trails video,Trails has been on my list for quite a while now but i've yet to give it a shot - with your video out i will definetly TRY and play atleast 1 or 2 of the games this year but alas i am rather busy with playing the rest of the SMT games (which I am not sure if you ever mentioned that you played: if not,I really wanna see you play/or make a video on either SMT or Persona,you would love them) Also i got the turnbased FF games to check out as well but hey might squeeze Trails in later in the year. Regardless i'll put this into watch later for when i actually do beat the games to appreciate it. But yea,play Persona man they are absolute heat and just like RGG were my second big impact - thats why i even post that type of content.

[@Tuddywutwut]

So nice to hear your thoughts on the franchise while waiting on Kai in a couple days. Hope you plan to stream Daybreak 2, it has a similar gameplay system to to the TRC in Reverie you liked and I'm curious if it'll scratch the same itch for you.

[@Dreken87]

My first trails game was cold steel. I played it 2020 because I was looking for something to play. By the time I finished chapter 3 I was locked in. When I beat cs1 I bought cs2 immediately and jumped in. (Both games were on sale btw) I knew I was a fan at that point.

[@MrRaichu12]

Me on the waiting room for kai no kiseki cle release because i'm getting paranoïd about spoiler

[@kiranis2174]

Just a small comment to support this content ;)

[@kevinlindberg1588]

All my brothers love trails in the sky the third

[@far6094]

TRAILS!!!! I LOVE TRAILS

[@pawnpure123]

Trials games where such a mixed bag for me loved everything up till the cold steel arc - hated cold steel/ revieire. Then seemed to have found their footing again with daybreak.

[@LittleEng1ne]

I really hope Falcom (or whatever publisher outside of Japan) will bring this franchise to Xbox, I want to get into Trails.

[@Hijikata-T7]

1 hr to sky, and 20min for the rest, need more. Kiseki series is top 3 jrpg

[@niles8576]

my first jrpg was p4g and honestly as much as i love the game its not even close to my love for trails. the only 2 series that come even close are Yakuza and mgs. for a while my top 10 games of all time where just trials games but then i played yakuza and now my top 10 games have 2 yakuza games those being at number 2 LAD gaiden and at number 5 judgment. i don't think anything can ever take the number 1 spot away from sky fc because the feelings that game gave me are just so hard for me to think that i would ever experience again

[@mysetlist2118]

We eating good this February yakuza and trails. Im gonna skip the latter but got the limited edition plus i alr beat daybreak 2 on steam last year so I'll probably play once i replay series again at some point.

[@Touma_S]

I do wish there was more accent differences to really show they are different countries

[@tomaszbartkowiak157]

I can understand your take on FF 7, I beat it last year, and while I get that it's considered a classic it's definetely a game that aged a lot and it's hard to enjoy with some of its dated aspects. When it comes to rpgs there are some I quite enjoyed like octopath traveller 2 but they never sold me to fully commit to their respective series. I kinda want to get into Tales games though, l really liked Tales of Vesperia and I'm very curious about Berseria. Honestly I don't think I have ever heard of Trails before stumbling on your channel though, and from the way you described in this video, it does sound like an entertaining series. There's just not enough time to enjoy all those rpgs 😅

[@RasenShot]

I've been meaning to get into the Trails franchise for a while but I haven't been able to for different reasons (mostly sidetracked with other games as you aptly put it), so I gotta hit you with the classic™ question: Where should I start? Right into Trails of the Sky and then onwards in order? I believe I once downloaded Trails of Cold Steel and felt like I was missing context for the half hour I played so I stopped.

[@Valimarr]

Always start with Sky, and if you don't enjoy it, move to the start of another arc like Zero or Coldsteel 1 to see if it clicks. Although the arcs are self-contained, there will be recurring characters (especially in Coldsteel), so I'd suggest either going back or reading a summary if you get to that point. Do keep in mind that this series is designed to be played in its release order, so skipping some games might prevent you from fully enjoying the experience.

[@kiranis2174]

And yes....just give me the sky trilogy on ps4/ps5 (original, that would be enough for me). p.s. - and despite I'm not yet into these games (well not played, but I've seen them), I still waiting for the next game because of my girl Elaine. (not only, but mostly) After seeing her (on Leon stream) in Daybreak 1....yyy boy!

[@firefistgaming117]

Yea the legend of heroes Trails series has become my favorite JRPG series period by point of Reverie (Started with CS1). Daybreak is my fav so far and i loved the Daybreak 2 demo. Hot take but i think The Legend Of Heroes Series is better then Final Fantasy and Persona (tho i love those two also) Individually persona and FF have some Complete bangers that individually would beat a Trails game, but Trails Is more Consistently Great, even the worst trails games i hear from ones i haven't played is Still better then most RPGs.