The Story of Trails - The Divine Knights

[@TheKisekiNut]

Goes without saying, but Cold Steel spoilers all the way through this one! Happy New Year to all! Didn’t really feel like it for me, still had to work such is the beauty of Finance. With the ending of the Cold Steel arc for many, I had to delve back in to the lore videos for this week, and give some love to the best thing about the arc, the Divine Knights.

[@blackyraypatrick9041]

Would love to see a Video about the ogre Power. Where does it come from? Who has it etc. :)

[@siege_sensei]

I like how the information is laid out in this video. The games give the info in fragmented pieces over 4 games and with everything else going on, it's easy to "forget" so to speak. The timeline of events with calendar dates was a great touch 👌

[@TheKisekiNut]

Glad you enjoyed it bud! Yeah there's a lot of information to take in over the span of 4 games (in some cases, even outside of those 4), so I felt it had to be summarised down at the very least. Not to mention I like the Divine Knights anyway, so doing a video on them was a no-brainer.

[@taliefer16]

This was awesome, thank you. I loved all 4 cold steel games, and I think I knew all of this...but this video really laid it all out in easy to understand format. like i know the game told me all this info, but seeing it all in one spot really helped drive it home

[@darknesswave100]

Man you really know how to do your videos in an easy to understand and fluid way. The calendar touch was a nice thing to add cause for some reason I always forget the timeline of stuff in game so having it laid out like this made it easy to keep track off. They give you so many different dates and events in game that it makes my head spin sometimes

[@TheKisekiNut]

Glad it was useful for you bud. Honestly the characters or concepts that spread over many games are difficult to keep track of at times, especially for periods that are only given in flashbacks. So it's good to get a refresher even while making the video.

[@Deode-d4h]

Ah yes, when Cold Steel went full Gundam after the final boss CS1. I cheered pretty loudly when Valimar gets summoned, shit was insane at the time.

[@odomfriendly]

You did really well on this, great job!

[@TanayVaidya]

The way I like to see it, if the Great One is Sauron, then all the Divine Knights are the rings of power, and the Ebon Knight, Ishmelga, is the One Ring.

[@coupdegrace2767]

"One Ring to rule them all...One Ring to find them...One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.". There are a lot of homages to Tolkien, in Kiseki and Falcom games in general. So you might be not too far off with this one.

[@caelanjarman2466]

Erebonia: Experiencing a time of peace. Ishmelga: “I’M ABOUT TO END THIS WHOLE COUNTRIES CAREER!”

[@TheKisekiNut]

Ishmelga's 'that' guy, the one who who wants free food in a restaurant saying it's the worst meal he's ever ate... right after finishing most of the plate. (rhymes for days)

[@stellarkym]

Generic comment

[@bluemooncinco]

Fantastic video and organization of a pretty complex and huge story! This is the perfect target to aim someone toward when they are confused about the Divine Knights because...it's honestly a LOT to wrap your head around, especially when the pieces are spread out across hundreds of hours of gameplay.

[@TheKisekiNut]

I mean I just like big robots, what's wrong with that mannnnnn?!

[@DarkNeogen]

Thanks for this great summary and happy new year. Your content is really good and clarifying. I actually finished CSIV today at about 4:30 AM. I also appreciate the subtitles you supply, please keep doing that.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Glad you enjoyed it bud!

[@marcoalmada666]

Good video. We need a video of The story of Giliath Osborne.

[@gerardflores1782]

Agree

[@jordandaudu1650]

This video was amazingly edited and composed I really hope you make more of those story style videos

[@SteStoGaming]

Awesome vid Kiseki Nut! 👍 Always love seeing more Legend of Heroes vids 😁 As a massive fan of the series I am also doing my part in doing videos for Legend of Heroes as well. Gotta spread the game more 😁 Keep it up! Looking forward to more Legend of Heroes vids! 😊 ~SteSto Gaming

[@Zaffr3]

Ngl the Divine Knights and the Panzer Soldats are what drew me into this series cause I am a huge mecha nerd.

[@blackyraypatrick9041]

Gogo powerrangers 😅

[@ExBlanc]

I think the Divine Knights (Or mechs in general), was a nice addition to the series. Hey, problems dealing with this huge monster because you human? Try with a mech! It fights just like you, but with more punch and defence, plus can fly!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Have to agree there, I loved the addition of them and it made sense for Erebonia to have entities like them existing. They added way more flavour to the Cold Steel arc overall.

[@mystery8820]

Almost every Power Rangers episode is like that. The rangers summon a Megazord to fight a bigger version of the monster of the day.

[@sin7136]

wow my guy good damn job you could be the vaatividya of trails this is some premium content please do even more videos like this!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Glad you enjoyed it bud, though I'm nowhere near Vaati's level, Souls content just lends better to this type of video. I'll probably do more of these though as CS4 releases on the other platforms.

[@Saru245]

Awesome video! It's awesome to see how much was laid out for the final battle waay back in the past and how much messed up things happened thanks to one Divine Knight, one whose ultimate attack, while really awesome looking, really REALLY hurts. I almost lost. Rean was the only one standing and with only a little bit of health and I just said "Aw screw it" and I actually pulled off a win. It really was a last stand. xD Crazy to see that that form was not even the full power of the Great One but was still menacing looking and cool. Makes me wonder what the Great One actually looks like and how strong it would've been. A bit of a bummer we never got to see that. It's also a bummer that Rean lost one of his close friends with Valimra and also a part of what made him stand out from the rest of the protags and other Eight Leaves One Blade practitioners. I really hope Rean still has his Orge power because if he lost that too then he really doesn't have that much that makes him special. He's still my favorite protag though so far. ^_^

[@shinnbidan7536]

There actually is one way to see, as I noted in my other comment.

[@ThePirateSurfer]

With how the sacrament of the lost Zem worked, it could well have been that earth and fire are essenses of body and soul, thus creation of life itself. But in strife, they were twisted ed into their most basal and destructive aspect, into the steel from which engine of war are built

[@TheVincedagreat]

Anything can happen in life and I don't really feel much. But when Valimar said goodbye it really hurt.

[@daniloss1319]

Before: Rean and Crow are special since they have divine knights (: Later: Everyone has stronger divine knight ):

[@mystery8820]

Much later: Alberich: Tier list says Ashen, Azure, and Palatinate have no chance against Auric and Argent. Even worse now that Auric has Argent’s powers. *Valimar proceeds to beat El-Prado equipped with Argreion’s wings*

[@kagekun1198]

@@mystery8820 I think Alberich was talking out of Valimar's initial stats. And judging by Valimar's first ever fight (against Crow's Ordine), where Rean had to fight tactically and carefully to win, he's right. But every Divine Knight had it's unique power to augment its strength. Ordine had it's super form. Testa-Rossa had its myriad weapons, and Valimar had the power to turn the bonds of its Awakener into its strength. That was what truly turned the tide. How would a friendless wretch like Alberich appreciate the power of bonds?

[@mystery8820]

@@kagekun1198 Valimar essentially allows his allies to use Combat Links in Soldat Battles. He can borrow their abilities when necessary.

[@albertharden3472]

Yes thank you for making this video I have to know about the Knights

[@dragonmast3r21]

i cried at the end of cold steel 4 when the divine knights left

[@hrgaming4plebs570]

Kinda sad there's no more Divine Knights after this, hoping there's new gimmick with panzer soldat technology to keep it interesting in later games.

[@pite9]

The mages they mention in the black records, the ones that made the golems. Who are they? I have gone back and forth between them being the gnomes, the Hexen clan and a totally separate group. I guess the gnomes makes the most sense to me. Rutger's circumstances with Zector is intriguing. How do you even awaken a dead person? And I struggle to get Black Alberich's motivations for going to such lengths. Why was it so important that he or Randy's father was the awakener? I know that he wanted to blackmail Zephyr into going along with his schemes, but I think there must have been a greater reason. The only explanation I can think of actually conveniantly lines up with my theory about the Knights being inherited. The awakener of Zector back during the Dreichels era was a mercenary too. Most likely he's related to both of the Jaeger leaders. And there's plenty of other clues and hints about other knights being inherited.

[@TheKisekiNut]

They're not the Gnomes, though they were assisted by Black Alberich. The mages were simply a group from the Dark Ages who were obsessed with recreating the times of Ancient Zemuria. The families gave them funds to combat the Divine Knights, and Alberich stole the technology from the Alchemists in Crossbell to make the Magic Knights. As for Rutger, I imagine it's purely because he wanted a suitable candidate, and the two leaders fit that bill. If a Divine Knight is severely damaged, it takes a bit of time to recover, and he probably wanted someone who could hold their own till the point of the Rivalry. He didn't really care which one became the Awakener, it was simply a toss up between Rutger and Baldur. But I imagine their fight acted as their trial to become the Awakener, in effect creating another pseudo rivalry of sorts. In terms of bringing him back alive, we dont know what technology they used, but the Black Workshop uses a lot of technology that seems alien, and I dare say it was the same in this case in combination with the curse which kept them alive as Immortals.

[@kagekun1198]

@@TheKisekiNut Also, I'd like to add that Alberich subtly supported Rutger over Baldur winning because Rutger was the calmer and more rational of the two, therefore being a more pliable ally. Apparently Baldur was not too different from Sigmund.

[@Metaretru]

Still hoping for that Deus Excellion's model kit by Bandai or Kotobukiya... But sometimes all of these artifact and power makes me realize, damn Zemuria is fucked up.

[@TheKisekiNut]

We can hope! I know that figures are due for Altina, Rean etc., but the Divine Knights would be the coolest thing to buy as merchandise. I'd be purchasing them straight away if they were announced.

[@mystery8820]

If I could afford them, I would buy an entire Deus Excellion collection from Valimar to Ishmelga... I am kidding, of course. High-quality figures are super expensive. Edit: Good Smile just announced a Valimar figure.

[@erederiu]

@@mystery8820 I'd buy some for sure. Particularly The Vermillion Apocalypse, Ishmelga and Zoa Gilstein, price be damned

[@maddu8437]

Thanks for the vid man. 👍🏻

[@timbermaniac5756]

I'll give you the like. But I gotta save this for later. Maybe a lot later since I've been playing them on PC and Switch up to this point and IV isn't out yet. I just finished chapter 4 in CSIII about 20 minutes ago and decided to take a break.

[@heavymetalmixer91]

Way to finish everything that was set until now with all the franchise games. I can't wait unti Hajimari gets localized.

[@arcanegale285]

while I knew there'd be spoilers for the 4th game I decided to watch this all the same and now I'm even more eager to play that game

[@TheKisekiNut]

My man, you shouldn't of! This video pretty much spoils all of CS4 near on!

[@arcanegale285]

@@TheKisekiNut kinda but I did indeed know pretty much everything that happens in cs4, I'm not of the opinion that spoilers ruin experiences, I'll try to avoid them, sure, but sometimes the urge to see is too strong. however I didn't read any of the dialogue that happens in cs4 But yeah I pretty much knew all of that

[@KudaGeatsune3821]

You should be a storyteller dude your awesome

[@gamalielmartinez2238]

Well that was epic

[@ahmaddahlan7952]

Gonna save this after i beat cs4. Now 100hr in the game and loving all what i see. And hajimari no kiseki official visual collection just drop in my mail today :)

[@TheKisekiNut]

Mine's hopefully coming by Thursday! Also got the OST and Calendar on it's way, though it's currently stuck with the courier...

[@AdamantiosLP]

Finally find a Trails Fan like me!! Sub ready and now time to watch all to Cold Steel and In the Sky :D Even so i´m just a German Guy.

[@rainbowsnail4171]

Saying the powers of Fire and Earth are gone might not be fully right. The Grandmaster say they have left the plane, but aren't "gone" gone like Mirage. I find it unlikely Falcom would make sure we knew that difference, unless it would ever be brought up again.

[@asaka616]

Amazing video if but for one small error, Dreichells - father of the Reconnaissance? Don't you mean Renaissance?

[@TheKisekiNut]

Literally realised I said that as this comment came up. I guess I was rushing due to work and just didn't notice it. But yes, you're right!

[@asaka616]

@@TheKisekiNut for what its worth I still absolutely love the video

[@jzblue345]

Very nice summary of the divine knight story. I wonder what part they will play in the new Calvard arc?

[@TheKisekiNut]

In terms of lore, they're pretty much gone, the Grandmaster says it's near on impossible for them or the Sept-Terrion to return. So it will require something outside of logic to bring them back in any capacity (which is not beyond this Series).

[@NovaSniper12]

@@TheKisekiNut I was just thinking that they should introduce a new set of “knights” with different origins and purposes just for calvard. Maybe lowering the number to just 3, just a thought.

[@jeckchan2009]

ACKNOWLEDGED

[@Zakrovik]

7:28 I'm pretty sure it's renaissance not reconnaissance. Great video, regardless.

[@MrApplefan44]

Can I just say that the final fight with Ishmelga was kinda bs with it's crafts, status ailment potential, speed and overall domination over the 2 divine knights and added Soldats you have to use. Even with the primordial fire you get from McBurn prior didn't stop him from just wiping the floor with me. I had to reset like 3 times before I got lucky with Ash, being the only one left standing, having enough CP to do the finishing damage to it. Not to bring the game down, but my god did that fight test my patience XD.

[@TheKisekiNut]

It is a tough fight, but I actually enjoyed that challenge. A lot of the other fights felt very simple, so to have a big bad that wipes the floor with you not only makes sense thematically, but was a welcome change.

[@MrApplefan44]

@@TheKisekiNut if he cooled down with the amount of turns he kept getting with me, I wouldn't have a probably. I rather have a chance to recover without making it feel like I wasted the turn before he unleases another multi target attack (one time back to back).

[@darknesswave100]

Yeah that fight seemed to want to show you how just almighty powerful ishmelga is cause that's the only divine knight battle I actually struggled with. Others were a cakewalk to be honest. That one even with the extra help and the primordial flame it was extra hard

[@Latronibus]

@@TheKisekiNut Earlier fights being easy actually makes a hard end boss feel worse, because you can end up in a groove and try to finish the game and then just get hard-stopped by the end boss. I had this experience with Trails in the Sky FC (in this case literally at the final boss) as well as Xenoblade Chronicles 1 (in this case a bit further back from the final boss...let's just say that game turns out to be a fair bit longer than you expect, even if you ignore all the endgame side content). That said if there's not much to be done in the way of grinding and instead it's more about strategy in the present fight, then it's not so bad.

[@yozoranotnoctis]

Ishmelga comes back again and still gets beaten

[@ceettopotat]

major cold steel 4 spoilers too? if it's only minor cs4 spoilers I don't mind

[@TheKisekiNut]

CS4 gets spoiled the most, I wouldn't watch it my man.

[@ceettopotat]

@@TheKisekiNut ait tnx. I'll come back around april prob when the pc port is out and I finished it.

[@BattleToads]

Trails producer to Falcom writing team: "Alright guys, this is Japan, you know the drill. Get to work on writing me an excuse to put giant robots in the game. Chop chop!"

[@PantsaBear]

This video is great. The only thing Im lost on is: how does Osborne know that Rean and the gang will get the earthen prison from the guardian of earth so they can materialize Ishmelga and kill it? Would Ishmelga have even hit his ultimate Great One form if Rean doesnt fly into space in the non canon ending? The guardian was corrupted up until the end of cold steel 3, and then it seemed like complete coincidence that Toval and the gang even met the earth guardian again, and then even more so when he gave them the exact item they needed. Maybe theres an intentional amount of info not given since McBurn also gives you a gift once he gets his memories from another world (a gift of fire to supplement the gift of earth no less), so is there just some higher knowledge Osborne had access to?

[@PantsaBear]

@@o0tg0o I guess that's fair, although I'm not really sure its definitive that Ishmelga is defeated in the regular ending since all they do is fly into space and we don't even see it happen. Also, its not even clear if they CAN fly into space because of the whole divergent laws thing could also apply to the atmosphere and not just trying to swim from the continent. I know I'm being pedantic but like, I feel like theres more to it than the player knows by the end lol

[@TheKisekiNut]

Honestly I think it was a gamble. Osborne had every intention of finishing Ishmelga himself, I mean he had a fair amount of power being fuelled by the curse. But also by being the 'enemy of the world', he effectively created a back up plan where the greatest heroes would converge to try and stop him, and in turn they would try and stop Ishmelga. But he probably just betted everything believing that Ishmelga could be defeated, because if he started to think that the curse couldn't be ended he might of simply succumbed to it's influence. I'd like to think as the story of Trails progresses we'll get more answers though, there's a lot we don't know.

[@PantsaBear]

@@TheKisekiNut Yeah I think the more I think about it, the more I agree with everything you just said. The guy definitely had conversations with the grandmaster as well as other people behind the scenes, so it makes sense that we don't get the full full picture yet. Also yeah, that roster at the end is loaded with firepower, and he knew they'd be strapped to fight him lmao. He probably trusted them to figure out a way somehow since he already did the hard part

[@davidharrington5694]

@@o0tg0o uh....

[@omarabdulkarim356]

Did you edit the S Crafts in a way to match the music's crescendos? If you did, that was masterfully done!

[@TheKisekiNut]

I tried to! Some of them succeeded and others... not so much. But I was happy with how they came out, have a good New Year bud! :)

[@omarabdulkarim356]

@@TheKisekiNut My guy, each one felt very heroic 😁 and you too! May 2021 lead us all to far greater days

[@keonimarcelo5813]

What happened to the Divine Knights at the End of Cold Steel 4?

[@TheKisekiNut]

The Sacrament Program was used for both the Sept Terrion of Earth and Fire to bring about a miracle. But it meant that the Sept Terrion would disappear from the world. SInce the Divine Knights were fragments of the Great One (the fusion of Earth and Fire), when they disappeared, so did the Knights.

[@keonimarcelo5813]

@@TheKisekiNut So you're saying that they're all dead? Noat Big Soup Rice?

[@kagekun1198]

@@keonimarcelo5813 Not necessarily. They're Sept-Terrions and those things are eternal. (unless they self-terminate) More like they ascended from our world to another plane, where the majority of the Great One resides. We may not have seen the last of Valimar ;)

[@keonimarcelo5813]

@@kagekun1198 So There is Another Chance we can See My Boi Valimar Again?

[@DriftingCloud_23]

@@keonimarcelo5813 yes if you played hajimari/reverie

[@shinnbidan7536]

For anyone who wants to know what the completed Great One likely would've looked like... ****************************SPOILER INFORMATION BELOW!!!********************************* ...Hajimari no Kiseki more or less shows us.

[@EdgyEmoLoliconBoy]

My fav is ordine tho

[@thanosztitan]

i had no idea Trail had this kind of story , I though it was just humans! I'm planning of giving Trails a go soon, what a teaser for me! Great video! Should i start with Sky or cold steel? or What?

[@TheKisekiNut]

Ah, well I hope the video didn't spoil too much if you intended to get started! Sky FC or CS1 are good start points, but I'll always say you should play the 7 games before Cold Steel III to get the best experience in that game. All on you though how you decide to go about it.

[@thunderkravenrifthound2288]

7 Gundam Robots Valimar the Ashen Gundam Ordine the Azure Gundam Zector the Palatinate Gundam Testa-Rossa the Vermillion Gundam Agreion the Argent Gundam El Prado the Auric Gundam Ishmelga the Ebon Gundam Zoa-Gilstein the Zero Gundam

[@Bluestar899]

I now have the image of Domon and Master Asia duking it out in Divine Knights and *it. Is. Awesome.*

[@danielguerrero1438]

Well I'm just glad that the nonsense of the divine Knights is over .

[@EdgyEmoLoliconBoy]

Does Valimar is Gae

[@sonic23233]

Ishmelga is ugly

[@AlkonKomm]

funnily enough you're better at telling this story than the game is I still don't like how "shounen-anime" everything has become, but I guess thats up to personal preference There has always been some wacky anime shit in falcom games, but imo recent games have really pushed the envelope and turned it into a meme

[@lordhazimuka5232]

Wont see the video since i havent played CS 4 yet but i kinda disliked the addition of divine knights. They seemed like a tacked on feature, trying to follow up renes pater mater. It might have some hidden lore behind which fits into the world but i preferred when mechas weren't a part of the universe. Giving unearned strength to the user.

[@AlkonKomm]

oh boy if youre not a fan of the divine knights youre gonna absolutely hate CS IV

[@darknesswave100]

How is the strength unearned when theres a literal TRIAL they all have to pass to get the divine knights? Except for Cedric every one of the other awakeners had to pass said trial before they were deemed worthy of using them. Plus it's not like they were in every fight in the game. The only time rean used valimar was when somebody else was using some sort of mech first. Blame it on the people that came in with divine knights and panzer soldats first before blaming rean for leveling the uneven playing field