The Trails franchise is incredible. (And how to get into the series!)

[@Cyrus_Bright]

Holy moly, what a phenomenal video J-MAN! This is definitely one of the best videos gushing about Trails I've seen. This is a prime example of what Trails brain rot does to a guy, lol.

[@Jman88933]

@Cyrus_Bright Dayum, hahaha! Thank you so much, man! In case the video still hasn't conveyed it nearly enough, I LOVE THE TRAILS SERIES! XDD There's really no other series quite like it in video games, and I can't get enough of it! Thank you for watching Cyrus!

[@kjriwoutube]

Saw your community post and came right over

[@Jman88933]

​@kjriwoutube I hope my video was well worth your journey to my channel, dude!

[@kjriwoutube]

@@Jman88933 it was a great tale of trails it sora ed into the azure sky It may shed daybreak light of thr series for newcomers into e series great video

[@kitkro4679]

Cyrus was correct what holy amazing edited video on love of trails being trails fan life style now definitely amazing video

[@MrDiomedes1977]

One thing I like a lot and not a lot of people mention about Trails is the "slice of life" aspect....between all the epic , larger than life charachters, amazing lore theres always nights of drinking with the colleagues, the trips at foot between cities and stops to eat in Inns and conversations about the region, the nights around campus with moody music of Rean in Thors or Van in Edith,the little conversations and jokes here and there, the day and day life of the NPCS...all that makes the world lively and alive and increases greatly the depth of characters and the odds at risk when danger finally comes close.

[@Jman88933]

Oh DUDE! I LOVE all the moments where you'd get to spend relaxing times at Trista or the Branch Campus with Rean. All the bonding events, not just with the females, but the times you spend with the bros of Class 7, I really appreciate! Falcom really created the standard for NPC's in gaming for me as I loved talking to all of them to get more insight on the worldbuilding! As I've said in the video, never have I played a video game series with a world this beautifully crafted. Thank you for watching the video, man!

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

I completely agree, and the way I normally describe it is: The games start slow, and spend a ton of time introducing you not only to the main characters, but also to random NPCs, so that when the crap finally does hit the fan, it feels like it matters a lot more. For an example, early on you tutor a kid (among many other things in the town), and then later the town gets attacked. You have to wonder if that kid is okay, even though he's just a random NPC.

[@xsilentshadow4x]

This series was on my back log until last year! I recently played all of them until currently playing daybreak! I absolutely love them!!!😊

[@Jman88933]

I haven't played Daybreak yet but its good to see you on the same boat as the rest of us, dude!

[@NinjaPopeXue]

I was a bit nervous for the new combat system in Daybreak, but after playing I can confidently proclaim it is my favorite style of combat in the series thus far. Trails doesn't miss!

[@Jman88933]

I still to this day haven't played Daybreak yet but I really want to within the coming month. I just got so many other stuff in my backlog to clear out first!

[@elliottb7009]

if anybody new to the series is concerned about the older artstyle / graphics, just play the game. you will love them. the characters were beautifully animated and still represented the character in the cutscenes/ dialogue window. also the world is so beautiful and each area feels unique and memorable. i feel the game can be more timeless than some 3d games.

[@robbyrobot3303]

The illustrated portraits in Sky are very expressive. I wish Cold Steel still kept them, especially in 1/2 where the 3D models were pretty stiff.

[@Jman88933]

Exactly, 100% agreed! I still love the older aesthetics to the Sky trilogy to this day! Same with Zero and Azure! The whole world of Liberl in that style is such a joy to look at, you can tell the developers put their hearts and soul into crafting that whole world!

[@Jman88933]

@@robbyrobot3303 I don't mind the portraits in Cold Steel 1 and onwards. But I do agree that the models can look stiff at some points!

[@ryanhelton7926]

I tend to avoid Trails videos on KZbin to avoid spoilers, but I’ve got to give you credit for this great video! I started playing Trails in 2022, and have been obsessed ever since. Easily my favorite video game series, and I always love too see new fans join the series. I’m always amazed too that a series in its 13th entry soon has still maintained such a high quality. Definitely a Trails fan for life.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much for watching! We all love Trails over here!

[@kevinstreetgaming]

Great video man! You touched on so many important points. There really isn't any other series with as many interconnecting games as the Trails series. If there is, please tell me! xD One of my favorite aspects is how important Sky the 3rd is to the overall series, despite the haters labeling it as a "filler" game. lol It was amazing for me to see so many plot points from that game continue as far as Reverie, with some even still not being resolved. So many great songs, but my number one favorite Trails song is Aster House from Sky the 3rd. It is just such an emotional song, especially because it only plays at one particular moment in the story. The Trails games inspired me to play the Ys series and so far I have played, I, II, VI, Oath in Felghana, Origin, Seven, and Memories of Celceta. Another fantastic series! Once again, great job with your video! :)

[@Jman88933]

What you said at the beginning was really important too! There really is no other series quite like the Trails series. Also, just like you, I not only find it *very* necessary to play Sky the 3rd due to everything that surrounded the phantasma and Kevin's church, but I also still REALLY enjoyed it due to the many of the individual character stories contained within the doors. Everything with Tita, Kloe, and ESPECIALLY Renne made me feel for those characters 100x more. You're totally right about the OST of 3rd as well! Aster House is such a beautiful piece. I'm glad the Trails series brought you into the Falcom fanclub, and I'm personally glad that its whats gotten me to meet you! Enjoy the rest of the Ys series man, especially Lacrimosa Of Dana! There's great things to come! Thank you so much for watching! 😎👍

[@Official_RetroMania]

Trails Kiseki is GOATED!

[@Jman88933]

@@Official_RetroMania Absolutely nothing but factual statements there! 😁👍

[@Fresh_Andrew]

I had almost the same journey as you. I played a bit of trails in the sky, but then cold steel was released, and so I finished that first, and then I went back and played the prior games(sky and crossbell). Such an amazing series of games. Sky 2nd chapter was my favorite for reasons I won't say because of spoilers, but the character development was emaculate 😭

[@Jman88933]

I'm glad we shared a similar journey, dude! I'm glad the series clicked with you as much as it did!

[@RimuMagica]

Watching this from the perspective of a hardcore fan who has sunk over a thousand hours into the franchise. Its my favourite series of all time alongside Xenoblade and im elated to see the series garner greater attention and the recognition it deserves. Renne is best girl. Oh and my top 3 games are Azure, Sky SC and Daybreak 1.

[@Jman88933]

For me, I guess you can say Trails is is my favorite JRPG franchise ever, but this is series is on a whole new level. A level where I feel its almost unfair XD to have a franchise like this compete with other JRPG franchises on my favorites list. Just like you, I love all the Xenoblades. Before Trails, I would say the Tales Of series was my favorite JRPG. As for best girl, I gotta go with my girl Fie. She's too amazing. But Renne is still a great choice! Love seeing her age as the series goes on! My top Trails games probably go like, Sky SC, Cold Steel 4, and Azure!

[@Omnicloudx13]

Great video you covered so much. I started my trails journey with Trails from Zero and then Azure with the fairly recent localizations, the games do a great job of telling you what you need to know without being too long winded for new players with the contention of Crossbell and the perilous situation they're in being a small nation between Calvard and Erebonia. I'm currently working through the first three trails in the sky games and hope to get to Cold Steel after that. I've always loved the Ys games and I am very glad I started playing the Trails games, they have some of the best most in depth lore, world-building and character development from any game I've played.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much for watching! And I hope you have a great time with the Sky games! I love that entire trilogy and I'm right there with you on the world-building and storylines! Its all amazing writing from Falcom. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!

[@BoluKeju]

Wow you explain very well about trails series, I'm still confused which series should i start but you explain everything the entire series. Thanks for your time and effort, keep it up!

[@Jman88933]

14:52 is where you need to go if you want to know where to start. Thank you for watching!

[@spironan]

Here to give my like and support for the passionate fanbase spreading peak fiction ❤

[@Jman88933]

Hell freaking yeah! Thank you so much for you support! The Trails series is indeed peak fiction!

[@spironan]

@@Jman88933 i'm glad it blows up! always happy to see people talking positively about the series as i think there is a lot that muddies the water. Trails addicts needs to stop going against each others throat and instead focus on providing better feedback, drawing in more interest and ultimately favours us long time fans in the long run!

[@Nikita_Akashya]

I started with Sky and have been playing for over 4 years now. I am currently replaying Azure on my Switch. I played Crossbell with the Geofront patch before. In, I think, 2021 or earlier. But I remember I finished Azure during christmas in 2021. Really good game. And I do not understand how people can complain about the old artstyle. It is holding up insanely good for a game from 2004. Also, there are 2 things that should be able to convince anyone to play Sky. The portrait sprite for smug Estelle and the one for annoyed Estelle. If those fail, pull out mexican Estelle. Point being, everyone should hail our lord and savior Estelle. Wait, where was I? Oh yes, my wallet being falcoms hostage. I really love the Sky games. I just hope the new 3D sprites can hold up. Smug Estelle is just too legendary. She is too powerful. My poor wallet is being emptied as we speak. I must buy everything. I am 5 games behind and I will keep buying everything. Falcoms grip on my wallet is just too strong. Cold Steel 3 looks fun. But my midlog is calling out to me too. I have been sitting on it for far too long. Anyway, thank your for reeling in more hostages---- I mean fans into the series. Now that we have more hostages----- I mean fans, we will hopefully get a lot more people to pick up the Sky Remake. So their wallets can also be taken hostage---- I mean given friendly reminders to buy the game. Being an adult is so nice. I hope you enjoy Daybreak.

[@Jman88933]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the fans who did the Geofront patch for the Crossbell duology! Its crazy to think that if I started this series earlier, I probably would've been playing that too. As for the old art style of the Sky games to Crossbell, I love it! Legit! All the facial expressions the characters make when they talk is fun to look at and the old-school aesthetics of world of Zemuria is amazing to look at. With the amount of great titles that Falcom puts out, my wallet is in the danger zone as well XD! Hahaha, thank you so much for watching this video man, and just like you, I can't wait for the Sky remake! It'll take quite a bit for me to get to Daybreak but I'll more than likely make a video about it once I finish it to let you and every one else know my thoughts! Thank you again!

[@jclosed2516]

@@Jman88933 I still can remember following all the progress reports and buying the Chinese and Japanese versions of both games in preparation, so I could patch then when the translation (and overhaul) was ready. After Zero they started with Azure straight away, and again I was following every progress rapport month after month, until the final release was there. By the way - I played the Trails In The Sky series with the Japanese voice acting files patched in. It made a enormous difference between that "beepbeepbeep" and really hearing (for instance) Estelles voice, even if it was Japanese spoken. I cannot remember if it went the same way with the CrossBell games. It's a while back...

[@AJ-or9fl]

I love the video and I have has gone through the exact same experience with the trails series and I can tell that you truly, truly love this amazing series and I love that you can tell that from just how you're talking about it

[@Jman88933]

That's awesome man! I was hoping that I conveyed my passion for this series well enough and I'm glad that I seemingly did! Thank you so much for watching!

[@goldentrout4811]

your moving avatar and passion is really cool!

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much, haha! I can't thank my artist enough for designing him the way he did! I'm also glad people are appreciating the life I'm bringing into my avatar!

[@JJG1666]

Love watching these kinds of videos despite being already a long time Nihon Falcom fan myself.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much for watching! Falcom truly are amazing developers!

[@deyon100]

I've just finished Trails through Daybreak, and I started all the way back with Sky First. What a journey it has been! I just love it when new fans come along and create amazing videos that hype up this masterpiece of a series. Welcome, and thanks! 😁👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Jman88933]

Thats great to hear! I haven't played Daybreak yet but I have no doubt in my mind that that games going to rock my socks off whenever I do get into it! I'm also glad to be a apart of the Trails club haha! Heres to more years of Falcom goodness! :D

[@deyon100]

@@Jman88933 trails through daybreak took me 160 hours to complete I always talk to everyone lol 😆

[@chaoseater999]

A friend had been recommending me this series for ages, and twice around 5 or 6 years back I tried to get into Trails in the Sky, but like you mentioned I never found the games comfortable to play on the pc sitting at the desk, and dropped them early each time. Around end of last year, I finally bit the bullet with a friend#2 also starting to keep reminding me about the series, and bought a Steam Deck just for this series. This weekend, I rolled credits on Zero, and am in for the long haul......

[@Jman88933]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that issue with PC gaming. I got tons of games on my Steam but never really play em for too long because thats just not my preferred way of gaming. Also, CONGRATS on finishing Zero! I love the entire Sky trilogy and the Crossbell duology was a great followup! You have many great things to come with Trails to Azure!

[@chaoseater999]

@@Jman88933 I can usually play a lot of games on pc, and it's my most used gaming system too. But I also love handheld gaming a lot, and the Trails games (Sky and Crossbell specially) just feel like they MUST be played on handheld mode.

[@CommRio]

Great work on the video J-MAN. I hope this won't be the last one you make, it was an enjoyable watch!

[@Jman88933]

Heyyy thanks a lot CommRio! I was already a big fan of your work from the videos you've made on Estelle Bright, Dana Iclucia, and *especially* Velvet Crowe! Glad you found me, and don't worry, I don't plan on leaving anytime soon! XD

[@joohwankim3213]

Your video couldn't have had better timing for me. I was exactly the person you were describing, someone who really wanted to give this series a chance but had no idea where to start due to the huge number of sequels. I love old school aesthetics so I'm going to look for the pc version of the first chapter. Can't wait!

[@Jman88933]

That just adds to the list of reasons why I'm glad I made this video! If I could get at least one person, like you, into the Trails series and help clear things up on where to start, then it was all worth it! I hope you have a GREAT time with Trails in the Sky FC! I love the entire Sky Trilogy and that first entry in particular surprised me on numerous levels on how much I liked the characters and storylines! I hope you'll make good buddies with Estelle and Joshua, haha!

[@4gltejondale452]

I started the Legend of Heroes series with the Gagharv trilogy and fell in love with it, so when trails in the sky came out I bought it day 1 and the rest is history. Great video btw

[@Jman88933]

I never played those! That's awesome to start from there then jump into the Sky Trilogy day 1 when they were first released!

[@thatgamingauthor]

Absolutely incredible video! Definitely sending this to my friends still on the fence about getting into the series. XD I had a very similar experience, actually! I got into it because a co-worker suggested CS1 to me, and I tried it, and even before I beat it, I jumped into the older games AND even the Ys series because I just immediately fell in love with the characters, the storytelling, and especially the music. The Sky trilogy definitely took me the longest time to beat, and I think it's for the same reason you mentioned; I have a hard time playing longer games on PC, because I absolutely breezed through the Crossbell and CS arcs on console, but I still loved the Sky games just as much as the other games in the series! It was probably just the system itself, haha. I'm SO excited for the Sky remake being on consoles!

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so damn much for sharing this with your friends! That means a lot! Its really cool that we had similar experiences with our co-workers! Word of mouth definitely a powerful tool these days and I have that to thank for getting me into an awesome franchise like this. As for me, once I bought the Crossbell duology on Switch, I breezed through so many hours on handheld mode in my bed. Easily one of the best experiences I've had on Switch! If the rest of the Trails games ran just as well on Switch as they did on PC and PS4, I would've bought the rest of the games on Switch, haha! Thank you so much for watching! You rock, dude! 😎👍

[@jclosed2516]

For me the Trails series was not only the start of a great series, but also the last "trigger" that pulled me fully into the JRPG genre. I bought Trails of Cold Steel (the first one) years ago, and was only at the very start when I noticed in comments on the storefront where I bought the game, that it was actually the 5th part of a complete series. After giving it some thoughts, I decided to play it all from the very start. I put Cold Steel on hold (I was only a half hour or so in), and started with Trails In The Sky First Chapter. The rest, so they say, is history. I just dived into Trails Through Daybreak as my latest Trails game, and oh boy - What a journey... As said - It pulled me really into the JRPG genre, because of course I had to play the complete Ys series. Even the Zwei games, Gurumin, Xanadu next and (another favorite of myself) Tokyo Xanadu eX+ (a sequel is in the make by the way). But I did not stopped there, because I really nextly went to the fluffy side with the Atelier series (I have all of them except Atelier Nelke and Atelier Resleriana). I am really looking forward to Atelier Yumia, coming early next year. I also played the Blue Reflection games from the same publisher. And I have played, of course, also the more serious games, like the Persona games, Scarlet Nexus, Dragon Quest and many, many, many more. But yeah - The first Cold Steel game is where it all really started and took off for me...

[@Jman88933]

Thats seriously awesome man! The JRPG genre kicks tons of ass and has been practically my favorite genre in games, with platformers falling at a close second to it! I'm glad the Trails series brought you here to stay, haha! As for the rest of what you said, I also love the Ys games! Played 8, 9, and Memories Of Celceta! Tokyo Xanadu is also a favorite of mine and can't wait for the sequel! At first, I wasn't sure the Atelier series was for me because I remembered renting Atelier Escha and Logy on PS3 many years ago from my local library and not really vibing with it because it was way too meh and cutsey for me. Felt like a series more aimed for girls. But I gave the series another shot when the Ryza trilogy came out and I ended up really liking it! I even gave Atelier Sophie 1 a try and ended up liking that as well! Now I'm very much excited for Yumia since all characters look incredibly charming and cool! Persona 3, 4 and 5 are awesome! Scarlet Nexus is a game that took me by surprise and ended up being a game I loved! And I got SO MANY THINGS to say about Dragon Quest that would best be suited for a video in the future! *wink* Dragon Quest 11 is amazing! Glad your passion for JRPGs is this high, man!

[@jclosed2516]

@@Jman88933 Agree about Dragon Quest. I already played XI (but don't mind to re-play it later), and am now playing Dragon Quest Heroes II, alongside GranBlue Fantasy Relink (as single player) and a re-play of Persona 5 Royal. I decided to do a complete re-play of the atelier series, starting with Atelier Rorona. I avoided the Arland series because of the time limits, but I will now use a walkthrough (the first time I did without it) to make sure I get not caught by those time limits again. Yeah - Sometimes you have to cheat a little to see everything that's in a game. I don't really like that, but if there is no other way, then yeah...

[@joshuadaniel8508]

I beat Trails series last year started on January and end it on October. From Sky to Zero and Azure, Cold Steel, Reverie and then Daybreak (Kuro no Kiseki) peak JRPG love it.

[@Jman88933]

Congrats man! That's awesome! Glad you enjoyed the series and I'm sure I'll enjoy Daybreak whenever I get to it!

[@GavilanTrakand]

I've been playing RPGs since the SNES era. I've played and loved them all. That said, I started the Trails series a decade ago and from the first arc I realized this was my favorite jrpg franchise of all time

[@Jman88933]

Thats incredible man! I'm glad Falcom really won you over like this even after all the RPGs you played growing up!

[@GavilanTrakand]

@@Jman88933 There's just nothing else like it out there, that demands so much of your time but pays you back with such epic world building and callbacks. Thanks for spreading the good word

[@joelman1989]

Your writing ability is underrated my guy. Been meaning to get into this series. Believe it or not I own every games in the franchise lol. Some in multiple consoles! But I just never get around to it because I don’t even know where to start. I’m finally going to do it I also own almost all the Ys games and have never played one of those… I have a problem.

[@Jman88933]

@@joelman1989 Thank you so much, my guy! 😁👍Its understandable if you're busy or have your time taken up by other games, but if truly have the chance to get into this series right now, TOTALLY do it man! Especially if you're a fan of JRPGs, you'll really love it if you play all tne games from start to finish! Also yeah, play the Ys games too XD I recommend starting with Ys 8 Lacrimosa of Dana! Thank you for watching!

[@joelman1989]

@ yeah the thing is. Im sure lll love them. They seem tailor made for me, it’s just such a daunting thing to get into. I always have them in my back catalogue but it’s always easy to prioritize another game that I can dive into without the big commitment.

[@jrpggamer93]

It's my all time favorite series ever !! Changed my life . An sound track is so good .

[@Jman88933]

Hell freaking yeah man! This series really did open my eyes to the greater possibilities of storytelling in video games! Love the OSTs as well!

[@shinabomination9857]

@@Jman88933is the music/OST on the level of Final Fantasy, Xenogears, or Wild Arms 2

[@Jman88933]

​@@shinabomination9857Haven't played the Wild Arms games or Xenogears. But with my experience with Final Fantasy and Xenoblade(if you're counting that) then in my opinion, the OST of Trails easily clears both of those.

[@shinabomination9857]

@@Jman88933 ok cool cool nice bro cause i ended up getting cold steel 3 for $20 and i wanted to start the series so i am guessing i will buy trails from zero

[@tholink1890]

Love this video. I've played many Falcom Games since 2021. I came from a marathon of the Persona Games and after I played through P3P on a friends PSVita I saw the Ys series. I was curious about it, played, loved the unique gameplay and loved the music more. In half a year I played all Ys games. After that I was convinved through this friend of the Holy Grail of JRPGs called Trails. He bought me Sky FC as a birthday gift on Steam and I thought that it was okay until THAT moment. Played from Sky SC to CS4 in 1 year. It was one of the most amazing story tellings I've ever witnessed and Falcom is now my most favourite game developer ever. Even played Tokyo Xanadu, Xanadu Next, Zwei, Gurumin just to have this good feeling of a great game with a great soundtrack, characters and atmosphere. My brain was rotted till the moment I laid hands on Ys.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much for watching! When you said "THAT MOMENT" I'm almost sure I know EXACTLY what you're talking about XD! Glad Trails made that big of an impact on you dude! Falcom is my favorite developer too! Especially in this current day and age in gaming! Ys is great too!

[@BlackHazama]

First time on this channel and I wanted to say I had the exact same experience! I started with Cold Steel 1 and loved it. I decided to go all the way back and play the Sky and Crossbell arc on Steam, and yes... Trails is the best JRPG series! Can't recommend it enough.

[@Jman88933]

I'm so thankful this video got you to discover me XD. Yeah, Cold Steel 1 left a great impression on me and made me take the big dip into all the prior games. Not a single regret! Thank you so much for watching!

[@shadowroninn]

Great video , glad to have another person in the trails love.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much! Trails truly is something else, haha!

[@FieryAnubis]

The most important thing imo when starting: Don't be afraid by there being so many games, and yes, do start with Sky. Playing in release order gets you into the story and characters the easiest. I did so, and I absolutely love the series now (fully caught up too). I deliberately don't spoil myself too much on future entries, even if I do watch a trailer or two, I forget by the time it's localized anyway. Going in as blind as possible is, in my opinion, the best way to enjoy this series. And most other series tbh. This is my "Kingdom Hearts", if you will. A series that's on going with connected plots and characters, and it actually works way better here.

[@Jman88933]

Starting the Trails series is like the video game equivalent of starting the One Piece anime XD. There's so much content in both franchises, but you brought up the best point: Don't be afraid. Also, just like you, I've seen very little footage of any Trails game I haven't played yet.(Daybreak 1&2, and Kai). I'd rather not spoil myself(even though I sadly was a bit on Twitter). Going in as blind as possible IS the definitive way to play! Facts dude!

[@derekwildstar731]

J-MAN! I had nearly the same experience! I finished P5 and wanted the same game play. I found ToSC1 on PlayStation Plus, tried it out and was instantly hooked! I finished 1&2 and before ToSC3 released, I went back and played Sky and Crossbell on PC. Thank you! Great Video and I am subbed and here for the long haul. So glad to meet another fan of Falcom!

[@Jman88933]

Thats totally awesome dude! I'm glad Trails Of Cold Steel 1 was truly enjoyable enough for both of us to play the rest of the games! Thank you so much for watching and subbing! There's more content to come in the future, haha! 😎👍

[@Kamsae]

im playing through all of them for the first time, currently on cold steel 4. when im finished, im probably just gonna replay them again and actually try to 100% them. by the way sky trilogy is by far my favorite so far.

[@Jman88933]

That's awesome man! I hope you enjoy Cold Steel 4! Its actually my second favorite entry in the series as of currently! The Sky Trilogy is fantastic so your favorites are definitely understandable!

[@vitorhenriquebatista]

I love this series, and Falcom became my favorite developer. There is no other JRPG saga like that. The writing, the characters, the combat, the soundtrack... it's amazing. All other JRPG series (FF, DQ, Tales of...) have some ups and downs, but the Trails Saga is consistent and we can see this quality in Ys and Xanadu as well. About the soundtrack, the Falcom Sound Team it's on my Top 5 composers of all time. There are so many great songs: Whereabouts of Hope, Silver Will, Blue Destination, Spiral of Erebos... simply amazing!

[@Jman88933]

Yeah, Falcom are truly masters at their craft in storytelling. These are the type developers that inspire me to do and try great things I've never even thought of doing beforehand. They really do have a consistent streak. Out of all the Trails games I've played so far, not a single one even in the mediocre category. All of them are great! 😁👍

[@onny.x]

ngl i was shocked when i saw your sub count not being over millions with this kind of video quality, hope to see more! (yes, i am now going to play all of the trails games cus of your vid haha)

[@Jman88933]

Hahaha. thank you so much! Yeah, I pretty much am the new kid on the block when it comes to content creation on KZbin! I have no idea if I'll ever make it to 1 million subs, but it'd be amazing if I did! If thats true and you really are going to dip your toes into the Trails series, then my mission is complete! XD I hope you have a great time with the franchise!

[@Mihael_Ardor]

Thank you for the video!

[@Jman88933]

@@Mihael_Ardor Thank YOU for watching! :D

[@skyknight0408]

Your journey was somewhat similar to mine. I had heard a lot of good things about Falcom games, but the (at the time) 7 Trails games and 8 Y's games seemed way too imitating and like a lot of commitment to dedicate to a studio when I had never played one of their games before. So I kinda put it on hold for a while and played other things from my backlog first. One day I found Tokyo Xanadu on sale really cheap and it looked interesting so I bought it. I didn't even realise it was a Falcom game until I saw their logo pop up before the title screen. Soon I found out that their worldbuilding was really as good as everybody said it was and decided to play more of their games. I started into the Trails series with Cold Steel and decided I would also go back and play the Sky games before I was even halfway through CS1, because I liked this world so much. But after the Cliffhanger Ending I had to see the end of this story arc first, so I started the Sky series after completing CS2. And by the time I was done with the entire Sky Trilogy, both Crossbell games had been localised, so I played them before returning to CS. It definitely helped having played all the prior games before CS3, because that's when the storylines really start to converge. Finished Reverie a couple of weeks ago and playing some different games for now before I want to Jump into the next big Zemurian story that keeps me on my toes for a couple of years.

[@Jman88933]

Ah, interesting! Word of mouth is a truly powerful tool to use. Falcom truly are my favorite developer to this day thanks to Ys, Tokyo Xanadu, and of course Trails! I felt so much of the same emotions as you did throughout all the games! Thank you so much for watching this video!

[@maelstrom7063]

I have started with Cold Steel 1 and 2, now I am currently on Sky 3rd and the impression I get is: CS 1 and 2 feels better when you play it without the context of the prior games since you will be as clueless as the characters which really helps to keep you immersed and curious about the story.

[@Jman88933]

That's a really interesting perspective! I never really thought about it that way but now thinking about it, that very much is true! Thank you so much for watching!

[@maelstrom7063]

@@Jman88933 cs1 and cs2 are still my favorites so far btw(althought sky fc and sc are not far behind), but I am still at sky 3rd, which I kinda started, but decided to take a break and play something else for a while in order to avoid a burn out (I mean, fc was really long and I kinda had to play it twice because I messed up).

[@Jay6x]

I got to play the Trails in the Sky trilogy on my Steam Deck. Despite the games not showing "Verified", they still ran flawlessly. (I'm still feeling a gaping wound in my heart from Star Door 15...)

[@Jman88933]

I wish the Sky trilogy were in Switch, then I would've gotten through them A LOT faster XD!

[@m.di.c.]

Wow you really have editing skills. Best of success to your channel!

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much man! My hopes is that I somehow figure out a way to outdo myself with every video I put out! Despite it being a VERY time consuming process, learning new editing tricks is fun! I'm happy to have your support!

[@madkaiser4887]

Me too man I love Trails as well, also did love your Sonic video as well

[@Jman88933]

@@madkaiser4887 Thank you so much for watching both videos, man! The Trails series is great at bringing people together! 😁👍

[@SuperSupersoda]

The cult of kiseki grows one convert at a time. I started with Sky FC, and played in release order, with only one exception: I played Azure after Cold Steel 2 instead of after Zero. It was completely worth it.

[@Jman88933]

(Spoilers to CS2 and Azure to anyone else reading this) Its nice to see this franchise grow even more fans! The only thing that stings, I think, about playing Azure after Cold Steel 2 and not before it, is that towards the ending of Cold Steel 2, ||Lloyd and Rixia|| makes a cameo in Cold Steel 2 and ||Lloyd knowing that Rixia is Yin, wasn't a thing until Azure||. I can't speak for you, but I'd imagine that'd sting a little. But hey, if you enjoyed it anyway, thats still awesome, dude! This whole franchise is so worth it!

[@SuperSupersoda]

@@Jman88933 (Spoilers for CS2 and CS4) It's the intermission chapter after the Infernal Castle, but yeah. My takeaway when I got there was: did Cold Steel just randomly decide it wanted to be the Crossbell games again? That's something that, as an old fan of Silver Age Marvel and DC Comics, warmed my little fanboy heart. It's something only Marvel and DC ever did: you read a cool Batman comic book, and that Batman comic randomly decides it wants to be a Green Lantern comic now. When Neil Gaiman once referred to his childhood experience reading comics as "postcards from Oz" that's part of what he meant. That was the true genius of Stan Lee; you didn't read a Thor, or an Iron Man or a Spiderman comic book, you read a postcard from the Marvel universe. Falcom does that so well. The prologue of the last Cold Steel game randomly decides it wants to be the Liberl and Crossbell games again. It's one of the things that makes saying good-bye to a country and a cast of characters easier: you know you'll see all of them again someday, or, if it's Fie Claussel, she'll show up for the first time in Cold Steel 1 and then, she will never, ever leave, mainly because, why would anyone want her to?

[@juancarlosrodriguez5022]

Welcome to the club. The trails series is the best RPH franchise in the market, and Trails in The Sky SC is my favorite game of all time. Nihon Falcom is amazing.

[@Jman88933]

Glad to be apart of it, heh heh! Trails in the Sky SC might honestly be my favorite in the franchise as well(tied with Cold Steel 4). The storytelling in that one is just top notch. The developers at Nihon Falcom are gods! XD Thank you so much for watching!

[@nineslab4880]

Like the video. I just started the trails series with Daybreak. Love the game so far. The game is good enough that you didn't feel lost when returning characters introduced since it feel natural for Van to know them. It does makes me interested on the deeper details like previous jaeger groups and bracers group. Would definitely play the others after finishing daybreak.

[@Jman88933]

I'm just happy Daybreak got you interested in wanting to jump into the prior games! Whenever I get into Daybreak, I can't wait to talk about it one day on my channel! Thank you so much for watching!

[@sergioluiscruzfilho]

I'm really interested in getting into this series. I actually played about 20 hours of Cold Steel 1 but ended up dropping it. The idea of so many games with 60-100 hours terrifies me. I'm thinking about giving Trails in the Sky remake another shot in the serie.

[@Jman88933]

Ouch, I'm so sorry Cold Steel 1 didn't really click with you. But hey, if you are still inclined to give this series another chance with the Sky FC remake, then go for it man! The only thing I'd be worried about is if you're willing to jump into the original Sky SC afterwards, or wait 2-3 more years for the eventual Sky SC Remake. If super long games aren't your thing, then I honestly wouldn't recommend this series to you, but if you're still willing to go along with it just to see what this universe's story has to offer, I'd say take that chance man! If you're a fan of JRPGs, I think you'll really like the overall universe crafted here!

[@noah_ignis]

Can't wait for this today 😊

[@Jman88933]

@noah_ignis I hope its well worth the wait! 😎👍

[@paulnoell39]

I have been sucked into this series too. I have always loved JRPGs (Pokemon, Persona, Tales of, Dragon Quest, Neptunia, etc) but for some reason I had never even heard of Trails. When I randomly picked up Ys VIII back when gamestop used to do buy-2-get-1 50% off preowned, everything changed. Falcom hooked a big fish too, I have bought all their games on modern consoles and so much merch

[@Jman88933]

That reminds me to invest in more Falcom merch! It'd be so killer if I can have a bunch of Trails in the Sky posters and figures all over my room! 😎 They truly are masters as their craft in storytelling and turn-based gameplay! Thank you so much for watching!

[@forspookable1812]

Wowie you really get across how passionate you’re about this series! Hope this vid spreads far so others can feel the same and give the games a go heh

[@Jman88933]

I mean hey, this series well earned my passion! Thanks for the support dude!

[@dogwithsunglasses4051]

SO for those who want to start playing them, the easiest way to start is to pick 1 of the first 3 series. Meaning either Trails in the Sky 1,2 and 3, Azure and Zero or Cold Steel 1 and 2. I would put of Cold Steel 3 and 4 because i think they work better if you played all games. The reason why you can play these 3 in basically any order is because if you start with a later entry, you will improve the experience you get from the other 2. Meaning playing Cold Steel first made me love the Liberl and Crossbell Arcs more. And while Sky is the earliest entry, Azure and Zero play almost parallel to Cold Steel. Once you played through these Games, you can play through the rest. It will almost get Endgame vibes with tons of charakters from all the different arcs coming together to face world ending events.

[@Jman88933]

Thats totally understandable! Not a bad way to start!

[@reyson01]

You've convinced me to pick up the remake next year.

[@Jman88933]

@@reyson01 If this video did that while entertaining you in the process, then I'm 100% satisfied! Thank you so much for watching and I hope that the remake makes you a fully fledged fan of this series, once it comes out!

[@MarioSonicDKPokeFAN]

I started getting into the Trails Franchise with Cold Steel, and the Persona series with Persona 5. Me personally, I started at the right time on BOTH counts

[@Jman88933]

Haha, thats awesome man! Both series' are awesome!

[@MarioSonicDKPokeFAN]

@Jman88933 forgot to add I got interested in YS and I started with 8 too!

[@Denzarki]

from someone playing through the sky series.. i recommend using the evo voice mods, it brings the japanese voice acting from the vita games into the steam/gog version of trails in the sky.. brings so much more character to the characters.. there are also visual mods which change the character art to nicer looking vita character art. it's not too hard to do

[@Jman88933]

Huh, I never thought of that before. Whenever I eventually do a replay of this series, I'll definitely think about doing that.

[@Denzarki]

@@Jman88933 they have so much character, rather than just the beep noises of the text. I dont think i could have played it without this mod 😁

[@RPGStory]

I'm working my way through Sky FC at the moment and that remake announcement was nuts 🤩

[@Jman88933]

Thats awesome man! I hope you enjoy the rest of this franchise! There's so many great things to come! Hope Estelle and Joshua are giving you a good time on screen!

[@Masterom2000x]

This is the Marvel Series of RPGs games, the golden age that is. This series should be a mandatory play through for anyone making RPG games on how to write a story for multiple games, hell even if someone is making a TV series. Some good twists, some twists that leave bread crumbs and you are going, "Oh man!" when it all clicks into place, and pretty great character development even for the side characters.

[@Jman88933]

These games are DEFINITELY the MCU of games! I agree with that too, these games can easily be used as a case study on how to craft an amazing universe where multiple games, TV Shows, and Movies take place!

[@master_shadow555]

Yes!!! I also thought of that. I wish there was another game series like this. Everything connected with like 10 games. Even if it’s not jrpg, I want to check it out. There’s no other series I know that would go this far in making so many games like trails.

[@KrowleyPineapples777]

Excellent Vid

[@Jman88933]

@@KrowleyPineapples777 Thank you so much!

[@natsuvega]

ive also started this series around 2 years ago where i beat the sky trilogy and got through crossbell last year and finally finished cold steel 4 a few weeks ago! cant wait to start reverie near the end of the year and daybreak someday soon since i did get the collectors edition for it!

[@Jman88933]

Cold Steel 4 is one of my favorite entries in the series! I hope you have a great time with Reverie dude! Great things are going to come with that game! Thank you for watching!

[@axess707]

Azure Arbitrator so top tier, they brought it back for Reverie.

[@Jman88933]

As SOON as I heard that song at the end of Reverie, I got so damn hyped. I'm not usually for reusing tracks from previous games, but for this I'd happy make an exception! XDD

[@WillWonkeyTertel]

Played everyone that has released so far. They world building and characters are just next level. I'll admit took me a few tries to get past trails in the sky but after that I was hooked.

[@Jman88933]

Apologies for the late response! But thats awesome to hear you're caught up. I unfortunately haven't played Trails Through Daybreak yet XD, but I will eventually, haha! Great to hear you're loving the series as much as I am, despite you mentioning that it took you a few tries.

[@kippies66]

I still remember it well. I was browsing through Steam looking for something new to play. Then I stumbled accross Sky FC. It looked a little old school, but not so much that it was a turn-off. I looked at some gameplay footage and it looked like my kind of thing. As a Fire Emblem fan at the time, a turn based RPG was right in my wheelhouse. So I decided to give it a go. I've been hooked ever since. Played every game in order save for the Crossbell arc, as it was only in Japanese at the time, but I did do some research on the basic plot of the game in case I'd miss out on references.

[@Jman88933]

Thats legit the best way to stumble across a series like this. To come in with low expectations, only to be sucked into such an amazing franchises that's had you hooked ever since! Fire Emblem Three Houses is also a game I really loved and allowed me to appreciate the gameplay of Trails even more! Thank you so much for watching!

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

I played the first 4 Cold Steel games before I finally went back and played everything. Part of it was that I didn't want to wait for the new games to finally get translated. So, I've spent the last few years playing the series from the beginning, and I MEAN THE BEGINNING, starting with Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes 1 & 2, and then the Gagarv trilogy, before starting Trails in the Sky. I then replayed the entire Cold Steel series with the new knowledge that I had. I still have to replay Cold Steel 4, and then I'm finally ready to play the new games, and because I waited so long, I already have Reverie and Daybreak 1 waiting for me. Plus, by the time I finish those, Daybreak 2 will be waiting for me, and probably also the remake of Sky FC. I still have a couple more years (at least) of playing new Trails games, without having to wait for the next game to be released.

[@Jman88933]

Ouch, it'd be ROUGH for me if I started playing this series before all the games were localized. But wow, you're ACTUALLY playing these games from the very start in the 90s and prior? Thats insane! I had no idea those were even translated(must be a fan patch). But yeah man I'm glad you're enjoying this series just as much(ngl possibly even MORE) I am! Thank you so much for watching!

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

@@Jman88933 All of them were officially translated, except for Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes 2, which I played with Retroarch's real time translation. I have playthrough videos of that on my channel.

[@Jman88933]

@@guruthosamarthruin4459 Ah, okay! Thanks for letting me know! That's all very interesting!

[@Daichi82]

I found this series thanks to a sale on STEAM 2 years ago with Cold Steel I and II and LOVE IT, i went Cold Steel I trough IV, then Zero and Azure and finally Reverie, next stop is Liberl with Sky, i'm going backwards but i fully enjoy the story.

[@Jman88933]

Thats awesome man! Anytime these games are on sale on Steam, I keep pestering my buddies to get into it haha! And wow! You're going through this series backwards?! I've never seen that before! I mean, as long as you're still having fun either way, thats awesome man! I hope you have a great time with the Liberal trilogy! Thank you so much for watching!

[@Daichi82]

Yes, it's weird but the games don't spoil too much, i knew about what was happening in Crossbell while playing Cold Steel, but then playing Zero and Azure i was looking forward to see the whole events to fill the pieces of the story.

[@Jman88933]

@@Daichi82 Ah, thats interesting! I'm glad you were still able to enjoy the events of both games. Its part of the reason why I recommended newcomers to start with Cold Steel 1 because it doesn't really spoil much on prior games and it gives a much appreciated general view of the world for newcomers to understand!

[@mikeluna2026]

You make an enticing argument so I might give it a try again. Specially on story and music (makes me wonder if it's really as good as P4). Though I'm not sure I can bear it, haha. Not a big fun of the top down strategy feel of the battle. Though, I only ever played a couple hours of the first Trails In The Sky (ps2), though back then I stopped since the gameplay felt kind of generic and the quests weren't strong enough to keep my attention (but I have to concede I didn't play long enough for a real verdict). It's just confusing which series I'm even supposed to start with though... Is Trails in the Sky a good start?

[@Jman88933]

I explained where to chronologically start and my recommendation on where jump in here: 14:52 If you're willing to give Trails another chance, I urge you to do it man. Or if not, wait for the remake thats coming next year.

[@cius2112]

I was lucky enough to play every game in order as well as read all the manga and listened to all the drama CDs lol But yeah I also suggest checking out Tokyo Xanadu Ex+, they recently put out the switch version too. It takes place in modern day Tokyo but its basically action combat Trails of Cold Steel along with plenty of references and a certain someone showing up. I played it on PC while waiting for Reverie to release and loved it.

[@Jman88933]

Yup! Funny enough I bought Tokyo Xanadu way before I even touched the Trails franchise! I saw clips of it on PSN and I was like, "Huh, I wonder what this game is about?" and I ended up loving it!

[@mailerd83]

Alright, you’ve sold me!! …on continuing to ignore the naysayers. Played Liberl & Crossbell, Nayuta, and halfway through ch 5 of Cold Steel. So glad I got to experience these in the original release order.

[@Jman88933]

HELL YEAH!! And dang, I forgot all about Nayuta just now! That's also an entry of the series I should get into even though its sorta un-related to the events of the Trails series, outside of some references. Oh, you're midway through Cold Steel 1? Awesome man! I hope you have a great time and I'm glad you're on the hype train that is this franchise!

[@Drunkendrakon]

Fantastic video. I was skeptical when my friend recommended me cold steel 1 two months ago but when I started I couldnt stop and I finished Daybreak 2 today. I plan on playing Kai and then Sky whne it comes out. The journey was worth it.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much for watching! I'm glad Cold Steel 1 pulled you in and now you're fully caught up with the series! Kai and the Sky remake look so cool!

[@Nel_Annette]

I remember back in the day, I got a PSP for Christmas. And the first game I bought for it? Bandai Namco's buttwipe localization of The Legend Of Heroes: A Tear of Vermilion. A year later, Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch came out, and Song of the Ocean the next year. Bad translations aside, I was hyped as I played and realized these three games were connected, and were ultimately a trilogy about two worlds trying to survive at the expense of the other (kind of like Symphonia, but I digress.), taking place at different times in three kingdoms that bordered each other. The Gagharv Trilogy, the fans called it. That trilogy got me to check out Ys. Loved those too. XSeed wouldn't bring Trails in the Sky to the PSP here in the states until 2011. In the meantime, I was loving the music I was hearing so much, that I imported the CD soundtracks to White Witch, Song of the Ocean, and Trails in the Sky First Chapter, Second Chapter, The 3rd and the Super Arrange album. For a long time all I knew of the Liberl arc was its music. But I finally played that PSP version of TiTS when it came out, and I loved it... and that cliffhanger smacked my face. I *had* to know what happened next. But the PSP version of SC just... never came. When XSeed finally brought Second Chapter and The 3rd to PC, I played them concurrently with ToCS 1 and 2. I'd given up on Zero and Azure but I'm extremely happy that those came over eventually too. And now, after nearly 20 years of following this franchise, we're finally almost caught up. I was floored when I saw the English release date of Daybreak II. We don't have to wait so long anymore! I don't have to spend a decade avoiding spoilers anymore. It's incredible!

[@Nel_Annette]

(Oh, and I'm still kind of hoping that this series turns everything on its head as we reveal more of Zemuria's map and the desolate, abandoned remains of of the three Gagharv kingdoms are on the north-eastside of the continent, and that the Grandmaster's plot ultimately has *something* to do with what happened in those Gagharv games a long time ago, or at the very least that's where her base is. It's a theory I've had for years.)

[@Jman88933]

Thats a very interesting story! I'm glad you shared it! I couldn't imagine how it felt to be a Trails fan during the time Xseed was first localizing the Sky games a decade ago. Their work on Sky FC was incredible but the fact that Sky FC on PSP sold as bad as it did must've been hearbreaking not just to Xseed, but especially to the fans. The fact that we even GOT Sky SC at all was a miracle. I'm glad we're in a day and age where the wait for these games in the west are shorter. You can tell the success of Falcom games in general, in the West, largely contributed to this and I'm so happy to see it! My only hope is that Falcom doesn't see this growth in the West and use this as a reasoning to abandon their roots on what made this franchise so beloved to begin with!

[@Jman88933]

@@Nel_Annette That's something I'm also hoping for! At the end of the Cold Steel 4, they really driven home the mystery on what the world is truly like outside of the content of Zemuria! But either way, thank you for watching!

[@Nel_Annette]

@@Jman88933 I remember us fans telling each other on forums to keep buying XSeed games to support them and get SC to PSP. Didn't work lol but I bought Solatorobo and The Last Story because of that along with all the Ys titles they put on PSP. What a time.

[@somponz]

Amazing video man, caught up with the series last year and it really is incredible

[@Jman88933]

It took me a WHILE to get caught up with this series since PC gaming isn't really my thing, but it was still the best decision I ever made! Thank you so much for watching!

[@joshuasankman6210]

Great video! I'm on act 2 of Cold Steel 2 after having spent the last couple years 100 percenting the previous 6 games. Fell in the love with the series so much I got an artifical stigma tattoo on me. Thanks to Cyrus_Bright for pointing out the video and channel, looking forward to checking out your other videos!

[@Jman88933]

I hope you have a great time with Cold Steel 2 as that was a great entry! All the Trails games are marathons and you STILL 100 percented the previous games? JEEZ! That's passion I WISH I had, haha! I'm glad Cyrus shared this video and I'm glad you found it! Thank you so much for watching and I hope my new venture into the KZbin sphere will be worth your stay!

[@joshuasankman6210]

@@Jman88933 yeah thankfully the games have great guides to make doing that less maddening. And for the most part the games either didn't need more than one playthrough, like fc and sc, or it could be done with one playthrough that's about completion and story for file transfer followed by a play through for clean up where you can skip through everything. The only truly brutal one so far was zero. That was because of the trophy where every character including guest characters have to be at or below level 40 at the end of the game and it takes almost meticulous planning and making sure certain characters are KOed by the end of certain fights. I did feel kinda dumb earlier in the year when on my cleanup run of CS1 and was pressing X to speed up dialog, come to find out by accident like a third of way through if you hold circle it'll skip through and it skips much faster lol. For sure, watched your video on series that should return while doing laundry and enjoyed it a lot too!

[@Jman88933]

@@joshuasankman6210 Wow dude, thats all wild to hear how brutal it is for Zero. But as for the rest of the games you completed, thats all awesome! You definitely got way more passion AND patience than I do lol! But whenever I get around to replaying all of these games, WAY down the road, and if I'm crazy enough, maybe I'll try and attempt a 100% completion run too! XD Oh, you watched my 8 Franchises video? AWESOME!!

[@BeeFizzle]

I am in fact one of those " just play sky" homies, but it's undeniably the best place to start, the people who're concerned with graphics, I don't know what to say, I feel like Crossbell has maybe the best aesthetic in all of the series, and that's a couple of the older sprite based games

[@Jman88933]

It is indeed the best way to start, however some gamers, including myself at one point, find it hard to migrate back to retro games. Thats why remakes for the Sky trilogy are necessary! I love the aesthetics of the old games as well!

[@Grimjaw-rw1sz]

Trails is life waiting for Kai no kiseki now

[@Jman88933]

We all are, haha!

[@coltonbunja]

I literally just downloaded Trails of the Sky FC and its really been scratching the itch.

[@Jman88933]

That's awesome man! I hope you enjoy the warm welcome of Estelle and Joshua and the rest of the Trails series!

[@coltonbunja]

@@Jman88933 Just met Olivier. Naturally, they're a bard.

[@KUROI6969]

Just finished Kuro 2 right now after a long marathon on this masterpiece.... can't play some jrpg a while after this lol

[@Jman88933]

Understandable! XD

[@ThenosM_]

I'm curious: what are your thought on Trails in the Sky getting a remake? Are there any changes that you hope will be made, or things they keep the same from the original?

[@Jman88933]

I'm excited for it! My hopes are that the Sky remake will remain as faithful or 1-1 to the original as possible. This is not to say I'm not expecting any changes at all, but the one thing I don't want is a Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth situation where they deviated too much from the original game, thus opening the floodgates for a lot of changes to the story nobody asked for. I also hope they don't add *too* much action elements to the gameplay and give us a lot of the turn-based charm of the original game's combat. If the rumors are true that the remake is using Xseed's script of the Sky games, I'd 100% want that too. A perfect example of a remake, in terms of design philosophies, I'd want the Sky remake to emulate, is the Trails Of Mana remake. The remake stayed very faithful to the original game on SNES while also adding new elements to enhance the overall gameplay and story(add, not change). Thats pretty much what I want the Sky remake to do.

[@roguerifter9724]

I wonder if anyone else did what I did and started Trails with Cold Steel II? My best friend bought me a PSP for Christmas in 2016 but warned me a few months earlier so I had been browsing used game stores and picking up PSP games I knew I wanted. Another friend bought me a Vita for Christmas that same year with no warning so I was left scrambling building my Vita collection as I could, and I found a copy of Cold Steel II in a used game store well before I could get Cold Steel I. I wish they would re-release the pre-Trails Legend of Heroes games. I have III through V on my PSP, and Trails starts with VI. I have all the Trails games released in the US and I played a childhood friend's copy of Legend of Heroes I but never owned it because it was only released in the US on the TG-16 while II has never been released in the US

[@Jman88933]

Starting with Cold Steel 2 is insane. But hey, as long as you still had fun with these games, thats still awesome! :D I also agree, I would like for them to re-release or even remake the prior Legend Of Heroes games!

[@roguerifter9724]

@@Jman88933 Yeah the early parts of Cold Steel II kicked my ass while I was learning how things worked. And people on a message board I visited at the time made it clear they thought I had picked the worst place to start.

[@anthonyldaniel1]

Woo sub 274. 🎉🎉 Let's go Champ. Love your presentation. I can tell how much you care about these games are in your tone when talking about it. Got a loyal follower from me. If I can make a request when it comes out to check out the Suikoden series if you haven't already of course.

[@Jman88933]

Thank you so much man! I'm glad so much of my outward love for gaming is resonating with a lot of people. I hope the future of my channel is well worth your stay! As for Suikoden, I've never played the series before. But I do know of the remaster of it coming next year! I'll definitely check that out and even make content out of it if I truly connect with it! RPG lovers unite! I do want to check out Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes someday though.

[@Ratorss]

A fellow synchronicity enjoyer!

[@Jman88933]

That song is a BOP, dude! I loved hearing that when I was first exploring the Geofront in Trails Of Cold Steel 4!

[@danielbricker7204]

Games like this are a good reason to grab a steam deck or other handheld PC

[@Jman88933]

I would've easily played a majority of the Trails games on Switch if Falcom released the Sky trilogy on that console. Too bad the licensing from Xseed prevents that.

[@danielbricker7204]

@@Jman88933 ive played all of them on PC, i just use a controller for games that were clearly designed for that. i really think that treating the PC as a PC and not a console is a personal choice and way more people could just plug their PC into a TV and treat it like a console

[@Jman88933]

@@danielbricker7204 The thing is about PC gaming is that I prefer physical copies. I'm way too old-school to really invest too much into PC gaming unless its games I truly have the highest interest in.

[@danielbricker7204]

@@Jman88933 im not willing to constantly pay for new hardware to play the games i like. Sure my pc is like 2k but i dont have to replace it for another 7 to 10 years. That said to each their own. If you like physical media that is your perogative. I do feel like its a dieing breed and one day you wont have a choice

[@Jman88933]

@danielbricker7204 You're indeed right in that physical media is dying off. However, the days when consoles altogether stop implementing disc drives is the day I more than likely won't be involved in gaming anymore in the future. If you're into PC digital gaming, that's cool! I enjoy it for the little I engage with it as well! But I reject the idea that companies can instantly take away my game whenever they want digitally(which is occuring on PS5 consoles) Or if hypothetically Steam, Epic Games Store, or any digital store platform shuts down tomorrow, where are my games now? Over hundreds of dollars down the drain of products you don't own. That's not the future I want to be a part of.

[@Haarwyvern]

I've played all trails in 2020 (from FC to CS4), I was first in love with the franchise but I hated Cold Steel writing (and Rean), now I still want to think that I'm a Trails fan but I couldn't finished Reverie 😭 Cold steel really hit me in a bad way and decrease my hype even though I love too much characters (especially Renne) to stop playing those games. Now I'm waiting for Kai to play all the Calvard arc in one and will try to finish Reverie before that. I really Hope they will make trails great again in my heart because it's hurt to see your love leaving you. I do like Cold Steel 3 a lot (except the ending), because the curse wasn't explained at that time and I do think that NC7 is by far better than OC7 and not that far from Sky&Crossbell main cast. Juna should have been MC though !

[@Jman88933]

Sorry to hear that Cold Steel and my dude Rean never clicked with you! I haven't played Trails Through Daybreak yet, but I hopefully will by the end of this year XD and before Daybreak 2 releases. I really did like the ending of CS3 though, I was on the edge of my seat over what was occurring! I was initially planning on taking a break before heading into CS4, but that ending made me boot up the game immediately after. As for both of the Class 7s, I think both are just about as good as the other. I love the old Class 7 a lot, and love how far they came together as well as their reunion in CS3. New Class 7 had some great moments too! I love Juna as a character a lot! Her being the MC would've been cool, but Rean is just as fit for that role!

[@bradjr10]

Another note about the trails in the sky series you don’t need a powerful pc to play them either

[@Jman88933]

Yeah, thats also true! Old school games FTW!

[@ChristianJohn-fy2fp]

Your video just uploaded on time. Since trails of the sky will have it's remake.

[@Jman88933]

I finished my script for this video THE DAY BEFORE that Nintendo Direct and once I was watching it and saw the Sky remake show up on my screen, I started laughing so hard because I knew I had to make a cut in this video addressing the remake haha.

[@tylerroyster1156]

No one ever talks about the Mainz mining town theme😞

[@Jman88933]

There's too many amazing songs in this series to name off dude XD

[@aprile1710]

Well said

[@Jman88933]

Thank you!

[@KUROI6969]

If you want to explain the trails series to your friend it is basically the Marvel of jrpgs and game of thrones too😂

[@Jman88933]

Yup! They really are! Haha!

[@firefistgaming117]

I love Trails also! Hot take but i greatly prefer Legend of heroes over Final fantasy and most orher jrpgs lol Daybreak was so much more enjoyable then Ff7 rebirth for me

[@Jman88933]

I mean, as much as I like that series, Final Fantasy ain't doing much for me anymore outside of FF14 XD. So it wasn't hard for Trails to exceed that for me. I haven't played FF7 Rebirth, since I currently don't own a PS5, but I can honestly bet I'd still enjoy Daybreak more anyway, whenever I get to play it!

[@firefistgaming117]

@@Jman88933 for me my biggest issue with FF is consistency, the mechanics/themes/characters&world building changes to much per game and it creates a situation where I love games like FF7,10,16&14 but dislike or hate the others. Trails are consistently amazing on all fronts all the way through in my opinion so I'd rather put my time there, only games that compete with trails for me as a JRPG is Persona tbh. Can't wait for Metaphor next month

[@firefistgaming117]

@@Jman88933 not to say Rebirth is bad btw, it was pretty good. But I just know if Daybreak 2 and FF7R part 3 came out same day and I could only get one first. It's Daybreak 2 lol

[@junejr.solomon7616]

My only requirement in playing any JRPG is being handheld. So I still have my PSV for Sky 1-3 and Steel 1-2 and the rest is at Switch.

[@Jman88933]

@junejr.solomon7616 I didn't even THINK of that! XD I legit forgot that technically, all the Trails games are on handheld. If thats how you want to get into this series, then that's awesome! It was really comfortable for me to play the Zero-Azure games on Switch! 😁

[@jclosed2516]

@@Jman88933 Well - You can play the complete series on the Steam Deck if I am not mistaken, so if you want to play them on a hand-held, it's fully possible...

[@davidsmememachine4434]

Estelle is Bestelle!!!

[@Jman88933]

@@davidsmememachine4434 Hell YEAH!!

[@Shazam1998]

Issue is, if you start with Cold Steel cause you don't like the old RPG look and system, you're never gonna go back most likely. So the optimal way is to just say fuck it and play Sky 1 anyway.

[@Jman88933]

I wouldn't necessarily say thats true! You'd be surprised by how many people were willing to give the old games a chance purely out of the enjoyment they had with starting with Cold Steel 1! As I said in the video, that was exactly me. But even putting myself out of the equation, I'm willing to bet a lot of fans in the west did the exact same thing because years ago, before the Crossbell duology was localized, Cold Steel 1 was arguably the most accessible entry in the series since you had that game on both PS3, PS4 and PC. Not everyone has a PC, and don't even get me started on the tumble weeds that was the PSP. So I can imagine it being difficult for some to even get their hands on the Sky trilogy due to that.

[@finnishpeasent8007]

i finnished most of the games in like 30-40h so not sure if everyone gets close to 100h playtime

[@Jman88933]

Thats INSANE! I usually marathon most of the games I play, especially JRPGs, but I could never clock in a Trails game that quick. The quickest I did was probably at the 60h mark!

[@finnishpeasent7832]

​@@Jman88933 i didint even try to marathon i just played normaly 😂

[@xSpyroTheDragon]

Funny thing is I purchased randomly Cold Steel 1 without knowing ANYTHING about the trails series (I only heard ones the name Trails in the Sky but thats it). Then I played Trails of Cold Steel 2. And then there was the Epilogue with Lloyd and I was like "Huh, who´s that?" and that I started researching and found out that there are tons or prequels and guess what? I played all of them right after and then replayed Cold Steel 1 and 2 to be perfectly prepared for 3. Maybe it´s even a good thing that Nihon Falcom is niche. Sometimes or rather often things get worse and lose quality, the more succesful they get. No wonder that bigger franchises often are less special and smaller more special and awesome. Be it Grandia, Trails, Metroid or certain Indie Games. Even stuff like Xenoblade, Monster Hunter and Kingdom Hearts were awesome before they got too succesful (and too casual) and started sucking.

[@Jman88933]

Thats an interesting way of getting through the series! Glad you were able to still enjoy moments like Lloyd and Rixia showing up in CS2 even on your second run of the game! As for the franchise getting bigger, as I've said in the video, I don't mind Trails getting more popular as long as Falcom sticks to their roots of what made the franchise beloved in the first place. I really wouldn't want to live in a world where Falcom changed multiple fundamental aspects of the Trails franchise just to appeal to the West. I don't have a comment on Monster Hunter since I don't really play those games outside of Stories 2, but I don't think Xenoblade has been sucking at all lately. I enjoyed Xenoblade 3 a lot! Kingdom Hearts however, I do agree is falling in quality though!

[@xSpyroTheDragon]

@@Jman88933 mine is a special case I get. I hated XC2 to the core. All the changes and almost everything didnt feel like Xenoblade anymore. Even Xenoblade X was more Xenoblade than this. Because of that I didnt even give XC3 a chance, since it looked nothing different like XC2. XC1 was truly a one-hit-wonder.

[@thelaughingdragon32]

You look like a guy who really likes star ocean.

[@Jman88933]

As a guy who's played and loved Star Ocean The Second Evolution on PSP, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and Star Ocean: The Divine Force, I'd say I'm a pretty big fan of that series XD! As for my avatar, its actually inspired by my custom avatar in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis! My awesome artist drew it up for me! :D

[@MathrosZiveon]

Yeast Series

[@Jman88933]

LOL! Hahaha!

[@robbyrobot3303]

Trails makes it hard to get into other RPGs.

[@Jman88933]

In some ways, I wonder if that is kinda true for me since I haven't really finished a JRPG since I finished Reverie several months ago.(A lot of that was also due to life stuff) But then again, most of my time this past summer was just sunk into KZbin XD!

[@TheRobastrana]

*was* incredibile

[@Jman88933]

@@TheRobastrana Huh?

[@TheRobastrana]

@@Jman88933 series is trash now... It has lost everything that made it special.

[@Jman88933]

@@TheRobastrana Explain???

[@TheRobastrana]

@@Jman88933 cold steel 4 has killed the story for good. Too many characters that doesn't have a place in the story. The role of Estelle and Joshua Is a joke. There is no impact in any resolution. No one is ever hurt, no one is really evil. The civil war shit is fake, I cringed so hard when everyone switches sides with class seven after some fake ass confrontation, because Hey, they never wanted to hurt you, It was just a test to see class seven's resolve. The villains are clowns, ouroboros are clowns. In Sky you felt powerless against zin, in cold steel you have a bunch of teens shitting in the mouth of leblanc after two months at thors. Every fight with a villain in CS3 ends with someone popping out from nowere and the villain teleporting away. Of you can teleport, why the fuck don't you materialize in rean's bedroom at 3A.M. in the morning to cut his throat? And then you have people coming back from their grave, which in of itself breaks One of the three Golden rules for a story that makes sense (no time travel, no people reviving, no fucking teleport). Orbment lore has become inconsistent, once it was a world with his own rules, It was more science than magic. Now you have fucking witches, vampires AND GNOMES, FFS. And by the way, none Is really a bad guy, it's Just the curse's fault. Jdk has been lowering in quality more and more, you have a spreadsheet describing their decline in detail of you search for it on Google. The character design is extremely generic and boring and full of fucking lolies with strange hair colors and etherochromia. Cities are boring and uninspired. Sky had few graphical assets, but that played well in building a world that was simple yet it felt real and full of meaningfull characters and stories. Hell, I can even remember the obsession of Estelle for a fictional brend of shoes, that's world building. Now I can't tell the difference between heimdallr and the capital of calvard (I don't even remember how it is s called). I mean, I could go on forever, this is the biggest gaming disappointment in my entire Life. I used to be impatient for a new entry to come out, but now I can't even finish Kuro without dying of boredom. But in summary, that's what I think. Sorry for my bad english.

[@Jman88933]

@@TheRobastrana I can't say we see eye to eye in any of this. Part of the appeal of this series is the large cast of characters banding together to take down the evil threat. Estelle and Joshua are FAR from a joke in Cold Steel 4. They're bracers who offered their assistance to prevent the war with Erebonia and Calvard from happening and stop any evil threats in the surrounding areas of Erebonia. They already had their arcs and developments in the Sky games. What sense would it make to divert the story from Class 7(the stars of the Erebonia arc) and focus on Estelle and Joshua again? No one is ever hurt? Did you not see the ending of the game where Rean sacrificed himself?(Yes. its not the true ending of the game, but the ending of Reverie made that timeline crucial to Reans development) I especially disagree with your stance in the villains. There's a whole laundry list of reasons why I disagree but at the end of the day, I'm not here to change your mind! If the Cold Steel arc didn't click with you then thats unfortunate, and we can leave it at that.

[@dante19890]

Just start with trails in the sky.

[@Jman88933]

That can be an option! There's also plenty of others as well!

[@dante19890]

@Jman88933 but then u have to go back to the older games, that can feel a bit rough

[@Snzn_7]

I still will suggest that if you played Cold Steel first then do CS2 next. Then proceed to play the sky and zero-azure after. This is because the formula for trails games is kinda like treat of the first and 2nd game being kinda like a "Single game" or like an single anime season divided into 2 cour. People can argue what you find out in CS 2 is "spoilers" for Zero and Azure but I treat it more like a different pov of things and more a teaser that actually pushed me to play the previous games kinda like experiencing a prequel or other side of the story. Also its' not like people considers what Azure revealed that happens to a big character which is like a big twist in CS 1.

[@Jman88933]

I've seen some people suggest this same thing as well in regards to playing the first two Cold Steel games first. Interesting fact about me, is that I was initially planning on doing just that when I was first getting into the series, before changing my mind later. Now coming back to this suggestion, with all the games under my belt, while I do get where you're coming from, I think the writers at Falcom intended for the appearances of both of them to be a very hype moment for the audience of people who've played the prior games. At least, thats how it was for me. Plus, it also spoils the real identity of Yin, which was one of the plot points of Trails from Zero. Not an ideal way of tackling this series in my eyes, but for those who got into this series like that and still enjoyed themselves, kudos to them!

[@МаксимЙолтуховський]

Deadp47 better telling about JRPG than you

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

I love final fantasy Lets see how many dislikes this gets

[@skitzzo92]

"is"

[@Jman88933]

Hm?

[@Denzarki]

you say 100% spoiler free but then show final bosses

[@Jman88933]

If you're referring to the part where I play The Azure Arbitrator track, I don't count that as a spoiler because if you placed your brain in the mind of a potential newcomer for the Trails series, that boss doesn't tell you anything about the game or context of what it is or where it came from. Its just a monster design XD. However if theres one thing I *guess* I should've been mindful of was maybe not mentioning it was specifically the *final* boss of that game.

[@Denzarki]

@Jman88933 well i, for example am on sky 3 atm.. i don't want to see big bosses from other games. But hopefully I'll forget by then.. i agree you showed loewe a few times but you have no context to who he is as a newcomer so it's not as impacting to see him