Zero and Ao No Kiseki (Trails Crossbell Arc) - Review - Tarks Gauntlet

[@TarksGauntlet]

And don't forget ladies and gentlemen, Trails of Cold Steel is launching on PS4 tomorrow in NA! Get it while it's hot! PS: It's always hot.

[@trullikoi]

Already preordered 😊

[@stevefromlondon4949]

Preordered the Decisive Edition. Even though I already have it on Vita.

[@jclosed2516]

Sigh - I can only wait until the game gets ported to the PC. Because buying an PS4 only to play one game (even if I had the budget, witch I don't because software and stuff for my music production comes first) is a bit over the top to say the least. Well - I can only hope and pray that PC port will happen, and it won't take too long..... Oh - And I already started Zero some time ago, but had put it on hold for a while (mainly because the pacing was low, just as said in the video). This video has given me the impulse to revisit the game(s) again, and pick up where I left. Thanks..... ;-).

[@trullikoi]

Oops I misread that as Trails of Cold Steel 4, which I actually DID preorder, not Trails of Cold Steel 1, which I did NOT order but eventually will.

[@SuperRobotSol]

My friends told me about this series. Hopefully tomorrow I can get my first taste of this series

[@axel88er19]

It is a crime not releasing these two games in english.😔

[@soiledtampax6182]

Those 2 games , even the 3 sky games deserve a remaster ! I hope they will sell enough copy of the PS4 remaster to consider it...

[@megamike15]

the fact this is considered the best arc in the trials series makes it worse.

[@nintendoswitchonlineisabad9491]

Axel88 Er Agreed!! It’s doubly annoying when not only is this arc considered one of the best in the series but also contains story beats that are important for Cold Steel 4. Which might be released in english before the crossbell arc, it sucks!!

[@TaigaGaoo]

*Warning Spoilers* From what i know, it was a decision of Falcom to release ToCS first, Xseed already had or has the right to Crossbell, but Falcom told them to release ToCS first. And Really, if you played Azure you can see why. Azure massively spoils ToCS. Pretty much every major plot point in ToCS is revealed in Azure, with the exception of the Divine Knights. After yo finished Azure, you know that: Osborne was killed. That Erebonia had a civil war. That The noble Faction was funding the terrorists. That Osborne didn't actually die and that everything was actually his plan and that Erebonia took control of Crossbell. All of these are major plot points in the first two ToCS games, whereas all Cold Steel reveals of Crossbell is that: They go a new weapon, a shield and tree appeared and Dieter was arrested. That's it. They don't give any context nor any more info about any of that. Falcom made ToCS as an entry point for newcomers, so it's not hard to believe that Falcom looked back, saw how much Azure spoiled and decided to better release Cold Steel first.

[@treezen522]

@@megamike15 wow, are you serious? I'm playing zero no kiseki rn. After that I will play Ao no kiseki

[@SuperOtakuKyo]

Played the Trails series in release order last year and Crossbell is easily my favorite arc

[@marc-ap4699]

I did the same , 7 games in a row , around 800 hours ... it was a crazy good story and I can't wait for Coldsteel 3 and 4 on ps4. I'm slowly recovering from that post jrpg depression ;P Watching this video bring so much nostalgia...

[@Kaytenorg]

I'd love to get these localized and into my collection!

[@martinmccormick2166]

I only got to play the first two of the sky trilogy because they didn't port the 3rd one to Vita (just to PC) So i doubt they bring Crossbell over at all. I hope i'm wrong though

[@wellwellwell881]

@@martinmccormick2166 Just play on PC then? I'm sure these will get PC localizations eventually. I get that physical copies are superior but you gotta do what you gotta do...

[@zoozbuh]

Same!!! I’m really hoping the Kai versions on PS4 get localised so I can get these on my shelf and lend them to friends, sob.

[@tomdabomb999]

Well now you can :)

[@Merotryz]

Crossbell arc was my favourite, maybe because I like police and investigation but all felt so believable as how corrupt the politician were, how sometime law restrict your actions when you are an enforcer and how many problems escaped our main characters hand due to having their country being pressure by two major powers. It also touch other more mature stuff like you said, kidnapping, drug dealing, cults. The conference was very intense in Ao no Kiseki, I mean no one pay attention to politician in rpg but It was so important in trails, they were setting stone for all the things that were going to happen not only for this tittle but all the next ones.

[@badboy250984]

Pretty much Cold steel is about politic .....

[@HIIIMM2]

@@badboy250984 nah cold steel sucks compared to zero/ao

[@11hahoo]

Zero and Ao were by far the best games in my opinion OST Pacing general plot Even the characters It had the whole package It even fixed most of the initial problems I had with the battle system (looks at nearly every boss in Sky) Definitely a must when it comes to the trails series and JRPGs in general

[@LeonGun8]

And then you realize that they completely and utterly dropped the ball in their actual linking of Crossbell to the rest of the series. Liberl and Erebonia tie together seamlessly yet Crossbell has so many things that don't match to events of Cold Steel, like how utterly easy Lechter freely reveals the survival of Osbourne BEFORE Osbourne has officially revealed his survival. Let alone the inconsistencies of characters from Cold STeel who do not exist in Crossbell. Let's put it this way. The Crosbell saga needs a new remake REAL BAD so that it can fix a few of the most glaring inconsistencies.

[@ВадимНечунаев-л2о]

@@LeonGun8 first, Lechter didn't know about Osborne, he just assumed it and he does state it when he sees him alive in CS2. Of all Ironbloods there is only one who knew about his survival. And what about character inconsistensies? Towa? Well, she was somewhere in support on a different floor who knows where. A-a-and and i don't recall anyone else. So?

[@AAhmou]

LeonGun8 Crossbell remasters may answer to that... Also parallel timelines Shenanigans. (And hopefully fix those broken bonding events of Ao)

[@ВадимНечунаев-л2о]

@@AAhmou What's wrong with the bonding events?

[@luminous3558]

@@LeonGun8 How do Liberl and Erebonia tie together perfectly? Liberl doesn't connect to CS at all because it doesnt need to. Sky 3rd gives us a lot of crossbell hints together with both protagonists going there at the end, can't ask for a better tie in. Crossbell doesn't have to tie into Coldsteel, Coldsteel needs to tie to Crossbell. The entire story is preplanned so anything that happens in Crossbell is made with full knowledge of future events which means that all the choices that seem weird were things that changed during cold steels development. Can't just make a game and magically expect the game released prior to it to suddenly retroactively include characters made up in later titles. It would be pretty easy to fit Juna into Crossbell with just Coldsteel. Have her be related to Noel and Fran but not be in Crossbell during Zero/Ao, the two inform her regularly about the SSS and she becomes a fan, then she meets them after the events of Ao. Anything that is inconsistent about Crossbell is the fault of Coldsteel. Even the Osborne thing could've easily been cut if they didn't feel it was right, but they chose to leave it in which means that we are meant to know about it. Lechter telling you that Osborne survives makes perfect sense. He is telling it to you as a heads up so that you don't think that erebonia is done with its invasion plans. Lechter is not entirely loyal to Osborne as stated in Sky the 3rd and he also did not in fact know that Osborne lived he simply made a guess. Obviously Lechter's guesses are pretty much 100% accurate due to his talent but we at the point of Ao don't know about it.

[@zoozbuh]

No idea why I’m only just watching this now, but I guess because I wanted to go into Zero/Ao completely blind.... and honestly I’m so glad I did. I’ve played every LoH game so far since Sky FC, and I have to say Crossbell has been the most fun for me. It consistently kept my interest/engagement, I loved the characters, story and music throughout.... Sky took a hell of a long time to get good for me, and tbh at times it felt like I was forcing myself through it. Cold Steel was more bearable but somehow the story never felt like it was constantly building like Crossbell’s did. Also, I love Randy. He is my absolute best bro 4 lyf. ❤️ TL;DR - I agree with pretty much everything you said in this. These games are incredible and need more exposure to the Western audience. I reaaaally hope the Kai versions get localised. If so, I’ll consider actually buying an extra copy to share around with friends lol. They’re just that good.

[@KaiSaeren]

Besides few demented decisions and few cases of "being too teenager to be a normal person" Crossbell is freaking fantastic, imo much better than ToCs :) Great vid as always, I recommend everyone to play this series. And OH MY GOD I agree so much about the length of the "ending" section of trails games and jrpgs in general. I was so pissed in ToCS when they wanted me to go back into the old school house after I already beat the game but all measures :D Same here, it was thrilling and awesome but god damn is it needlessly long :D Also, totally agreed on some of the portrayts, the new people are great but aside for Renne and the princess I didnt like any of the returning ones :( And its even worse in CS 3 and 4

[@timidalchemist8475]

There isn't portrait for returning characters in sen 3 and 4. They do bring the ones that are important to the overall story on what's happening in sen 3 to 4.

[@KaiSaeren]

@@timidalchemist8475 What do you mean? In conversation they have portaits next to their chat bubbles and in the menus as well. Specificaly I am thinking of Tio and Randy, I dont like their 3d models much but their portraits have lost much of their appeal to me because of the change in engine. Tio in Ao and Zero was very cute because it was (I assume) hand drawn animation, this is in engine and it just makes them look different.

[@hou9133]

Freddy Martinez there’s a lot of returning character in cs 3 n 4 , especially 4, is the most usable character among the series, more thn twice of sky3

[@luminous3558]

@@KaiSaeren Tio's CG in CS3 is so bad.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I don't want to watch further as this series (Zero and Ao) is among the few that I want to go in blind. Anyways, thanks for covering it. Really hoping it gets an official release like the previous games.

[@EekChocolate]

This arc needs way more exposure to an English audience!

[@ignacywinski192]

Just finished Cold Steel 1 and it was great game, but Ao is even better - best combat so far, most interesting bossfights (especialy that in Tower of Stargaze) and that last story twist. My favorite in the series.

[@vanessadavies2587]

My eyes lit up when i saw the title of the video, i,m just playing through Zero now, only 11 or so hours in and foiled the "wolf scheme" and had a new hairy addition join my party :) worth every penny of the 900 yen i paid for both games new when myself and the hubby visited japan for the first time last Oct, ended up leaving half our clothes over there so we could fit all the video game stuff, Pokemon plushy,s and One piece figs in the cases.lol Up to now had no problems with the psp patched version, there was a third game i picked up also from Falcom in japan but that was action based and not turn based, maybe you know of it already, the limited edition of that was only 800 yen new, had a white fluffy puff ball plush in it that boxset, was a creature in the game one of the party had, can,t recall the name off top of my head, i have an english patched version of that ready to go...trying to play all three this year :)

[@Cneqq]

Thanks for promoting this. Out of both Cold Steel/Sky this duo is still by far my favourite so far. Lloyd is my favourite Trails protag and the ending of Azure still stands as my favourite trails ending. I played this after playing the entire sky series & cold steel 1/2 and in my opinion it doesn't matter if you play cold steel before this and imo i'd say Zero/Azure spoils more of Cold Steel 1 if anything. However I'd HIGHY recommend playing all three sky games before starting these. A major plotline that didn't end in sky is concluded in Zero and knowledge of Kevin from Trails in the Sky the 3rd will help you appreciate things a bit more as well.

[@BKMcGlynn]

Finally a good review of the Crossbell games on KZbin!! Thanks for spreading the Trails love on here. This place was sorely lacking Zero & Ao content!! Fantastic review!

[@MistaHoward]

Don't think I didn't notice you picking the best girl (Rixia) for every one of the bonding events. Based taste Also, the audio and graphical issues you had were entirely because the game was originally made for PSP. All the assets were made for a tiny ~1GB disk space and 480x272 resolution screen. Some of it was updated for the PC releases, but not all of it. The PC releases which the fan translations were based on use the PSP voices, which is why the quality on them is so low. The good fan translation patch being worked on by Geofront is ripping the updated assets from the Vita versions and porting them into the game in addition to fixing the bad-to-mediocre script quality of the games, but they're only 80% done with Zero and haven't started on Ao yet.

[@stevefromlondon4949]

What I'd give to have all the Trails games in one place, on Switch.

[@stevefromlondon4949]

@Weston Meyer Yeah, I'd do the same.

[@TyRendition]

@@stevefromlondon4949 that dream is so close to becoming true since 1-4 is coming on the switch.

[@HansAlRachid]

I'm so damn excited for the official western release for these games - they're definitely my personal favourites. Playing as a JRPG cop? Can't say I've seen that anywhere else. The Sky games had a super likeable, down-to-earth quality to them and I personally thought the Cold Steel games veered too far into anime trope territory, so the Crossbell games are more or less the sweet spot between the two for me.

[@markjoseph6243]

Crossbell is by far my favorite arc of Kiseki series, and Ao is probably my favorite RPG of all times. Ao had everything on point, at least to me, what does not happen in the Cold Steel series, which has everything to be one of the bests of the series, but in my opinion, they didn't make it in the "right way". Well, that was a great video, I find out your channel today and I really glad I did, because you have a great content over here, I wish you all the praise you deserve.

[@Desumundo]

15:44 that's what I noticed also when playing these duology.. they change the Character frame into Anime style 😁

[@walktroughman1952]

Don't Google, google can be fucking stupid, better go directly to Reddit and start the search from there.

[@xenosaren6324]

Crossbell arc is my favourite arc (followed closely by Liberl). I'm glad you finally discovered those gems and I agree with previous comments, that is a crime to not release those games officialy in the West for broader audience. Cold Steel is nowhere near in terms of quality (story and chara development). I already played Cold Steel III and knowing Crossbell games is crucial to fully understand it.

[@timidalchemist8475]

It's a shame cold steel never came to the quality of crossbell, but it's still good overall compared to most modern jrpgs, I am excited to see calvard given how much hints we gotten in sen 3 to 4.

[@xenosaren6324]

@@timidalchemist8475 I agree about Cold Steel compared to novadays jRPG's. But in comparison to previous arcs, it's a huge step down, so I hope Falcom and Kondo-san will work harder on Calvard arc, as I expect more from Kiseki series, than simple harem of girls for MC. Kiseki series is more than that to me, and I'd like to see a comeback to indepentent relations between characters, not just dating simulator with different endings, Persona-like style. I like Cold Steel games, but I LOVE Crossbell and Liberl arcs.

[@mgobd258]

Xenosaren so aside from the bonding system what are the other problems that CS arc had suffered from in your opinion

[@xenosaren6324]

@@mgobd258 character development is my biggest issue there - MC is flat out from very beginning till the end of 3rd game (I did not played Sen IV yet), most of the cast is not deep enough compared to previous games (Gaius for example, could be removed from the game and it wouldn't change much, Laura, Eliot as well) - I call it "lost potential". It's not bonding system itself, it is blown out of proportion massive focus of all female characters (and some males) on MC, as beloved-Husband-to-be. Sometimes it causes problems with story plot in my opinion, where I can't take seriously what's going on on the screen. 3rd game shows it even in larger scale (I already finished it, and playing second time now), where literally, Rean is kissed in one moment by one girl, and just few moments later by another. All girls in the game are obsessed with him to the point, I can't stand it (there's even in-game joke about it). Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Cold Steel, just in my opinion this MC-centric hormones just ruins seriousness of the plot, which is great and from all 3 Erebonia games, probably the best. Another thing is quantity over quality of characters in Erebonia arc (again, 3rd game is the top contender here, where it is as bad, as it was in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, where some characters just showed up to be shown without any significant substance). Apart from that, I like CS arc and I always recommend to play the whole saga in correct order. Greetings from Mishelam :)

[@mgobd258]

Xenosaren I feel you bro and I hope the next arc doesn't have school/academy setting also the reason why some characters felt underdeveloped in the beginning it's because falcom wanted to split the arc into 4 games, it's sad that they went for quantity over quality but I think that CS is better in terms of world building and the battle system is more enjoyable but that's just my opinion

[@StarlinkNova]

I really need to get around to playing the Trails in the Sky games. The only ones I've played are Cold Steel 1 & 2. This one sounds good as well. Hopefully one day we will see an official translation. Either from NIS or Xseed would be great. Oh, and I made sure to pick up my copy of Cold Steel on PS4 as well 👍. Happy launch day!

[@IceofDream.]

i just finished myself trails in the sky FC Evolution on Vita, i highly recommend this game, currently im playing the SC and i cannot tell you how happy i am.... you should really play them. and of course once i finish this i'll start playing the third and thin zero.

[@ismoalanko4505]

@@IceofDream. I liked Cold steels but to me Trails in the Skys were 7,5/10. Imo Story and characters in Cold Steels was better.

[@IceofDream.]

@@ismoalanko4505 my first trail was cold steel, i think i love it more too but in genenal the whole series is great.

[@GamingWithSpoons]

I've downloaded them already and have them in my pc ready to play on an emulator. However if these ever got localized I would buy both of them I want them officially localized.

[@trullikoi]

I actually enjoy these games. I already finished Zero and am halfway through Ao no Kiseki

[@TarksGauntlet]

Get ready. Ao is a rollercoaster.

[@DeltathRiylaan]

Why say ACTUALLY like it's some crazy notion and most people don't enjoy them?!

[@trullikoi]

@@DeltathRiylaan I didn't mean for it to sound like that, I was just making a matter of fact statement. I started Trails in the Sky FC a while back but couldn't get into it. I played Trails of Cold Steel then went back and finished Trails in the Sky, now I'm determined to play all the games in the series.

[@basedmek]

@@trullikoi this is me exactly. Dropped Trails in the Sky but currently playing Trails of Cold Steel and love it. Planning to go back. Where's your journey at with this series now?

[@trullikoi]

@@basedmek Finished So, so I'm all caught up. Finished CS3 already but playing it again to pick up stuff I missed.

[@elbravovierde8010]

So... You call up to your own channel is.. The Worst??! Dude you are so humble and funny!! YOU ARE ONE OF THE BESTS here in youtube!!! I'm here cuz Erick Landon (Witch I foolishly amuse myself calling LONDON!!) Because I've watched all of his That JRPG show and I've already knew and like his other guests! And I like very much the conversation you had with him!! Now for the quality of your great work and humbleness you've got yourself a crazy subscriber who will cheer for you and like your videos!! You actually looks very sharp and stilyst in that chat! It's nice too see you've grow to be a mega evolution of yourself in just less than 2 years! And still maitaining your humbleness! God bless you man!!

[@TarksGauntlet]

My channels trailers just a big joke anyway, but I'm glad you're liking what you're seeing haha!

[@crozraven]

Come on Falcom. They better remaster, localize this game, & put it on Steam & GOG before ToCS3 - ToCS4 arrived on PC too.

[@helenFX]

Imagine if Falcom were just to release the Chinese PC version as-is on steam and gave permission (or steam-workshop) support for fan translations ? I can't see that it would cost them anything, it would make them a little money and gain sooooo much love and support from the public. I like to think that the reason for not doing this is that they still have the intention or hope of officially releasing an english language version...eventually. FWIW you can fully legally buy the chinese PC release from china.

[@TarksGauntlet]

That would honestly be such a simple solution, and I feel given how dedicated the fanbase is, they wouldn't complain much about no official translation.

[@mingzheguo3024]

Yes. There was even one time that this chinese agent company manage to put these two crossbell games on greenlight on steam, surprised by a lot amount of english speakers' comments, and clarify that they only have chinese translation copyright and may discuss more about that later, before greenlight is closed.

[@lalalalisa41]

Only recently finished Ao no Kiseki and god I just love this series! It's such a shame the Crossbell games never got an official localization.

[@kemingyu4266]

Lalisa T I experience the opposite.i finished zero and found it too boring to continue with ao

[@lalalalisa41]

@@kemingyu4266 That's sad to hear. Personally I prefer Ao over Zero because of the payoff from Zero and when it ramps up, it ramps up. That and Ao made me appreciate Zero in a different way. And of course there's all the set up and foreshadowing that I love.

[@mrbastos]

I plan to finish cold steel asap now that I can play on my TV (though I do own the first 2 on Vita), and then maybe go back to Trails in the Sky, since I own them all on Steam, but where to fit this in..hmm if I'm able to acquire it, maybe after sky?

[@Suzakuux]

Falcom has become one of my favorite developers ever since Trails in the Sky. And yes, the Trails/Kiseki series is the definition of *worth it* lol even if they have somewhat slow starts, their payoffs are incredible. I really need to play the fan translation of the Crossbell games. Can't wait for CS3!

[@JRPGforlife]

We really need a port or a remaster of the sky and also crossbell to be localised to come to ps4

[@chronofantasy1987]

Where do I sign the petition along with many other fans to get the crossbell arc noticed and localized to the West? We need these games.

[@heavymetalmixer91]

What a coincidence, I started Zero like a month ago and now I'm on the final chapter (?) of Ao, and after playing Sora 1, 2 and 3 and the first two Cold Steel, I can surely say this game is awesome (leaving aside the voices mix and some secondary characters voice acting). One detail I noticed in Ao is that for some reason the game has more "Yellow" color, and the portraits don't look as HQ.

[@Alfrays]

One of the best series I've ever played(aside from the crossbell arc)and I play videogame since 95. I think it's right to say that the fan translation is not perfect because incomplete. Basically, the guy that was working on it decided to quit the project and published his work that was missing of the editing, qa testing, and etc... someone else is working on it now, and I'm waiting for them like I was waiting for the Messiah.

[@otgrey3927]

Not even the Wikipedia article has much info on the Crossbell Arc. It's a damned shame, I'm currently playing Trails of Cold Steel #1 on the Vita and enjoying it immensely.

[@SuperSupersoda]

Hi! I'm from 3 years in the future from when this video was published. It's March 10th, 2023, and in just 4 days, Trails to Azure comes to America with an official localization. Trails to Zero came out last year. I can't wait to play Azure, and it's been the only thing on my mind for weeks now. Oh, and four months from now, Reverie comes to America with an official localization too! Then Nayuta. Kuro 1 in 2024? Kuro 2 in 2025? The possibilities are limitless. 3 years ago, when Tarks first published this video, people wondered "if" the Kiseki games would come to America, today, the question is "when". I'm one of the fans who found this wonderful series in the last 3 years, and a lot of other people did too.

[@Maxus_Xavier]

I pushed myself to play this awhile ago using a spreadsheet for translation. Needless to say, i enjoyed every moment of it. Ao is my favorite in the series as well, and this is with a spread-sheet focused on the main story quests which meant missing many side quests. When i replayed Ao with the completed Fan-translation, i knew that it can only get better. Still hoping they get officially localized someday for the people who will most likely, and sadly, miss out on these 2 fantastic games.

[@danielscott70x7]

Mo Fa where did you get this spreadsheet? I’m not technically savvy enough to do the whole PC emulation/fan translation thing, but I’m in if I can potentially play the JPN version on my Vita with a guide of sorts.

[@gboyricky]

The fact that I’ll never possibly be able to play the Crossbell story makes me super sad considering how I keep hearing it hyped up 😭

[@ausreir]

While the Trails in the Sky trilogy feels like a traditional RPG (a very good one at that), the Crossbell Arc departs from these chartered path and moves into geopolitics, a topic usually not discussed at all, much less explored. Crossbell, on the surface looks wonderful, but is being strangled and exploited by its two former colonial masters. It is truly an amazing game.

[@MaskedKingDavid]

13:40 I nearly burst out laughing when you showed that pitiful mountain. Hopefully the upcoming PS4 remaster fixes it.

[@FuIIDiveVR]

The game was held back massively being a psp title haha.

[@rpgfan8650]

Great review it is such a overlooked arc! Official release of Azure is coming soon so perfect time to double dip and have a big smile when noticing foreshadow moments

[@deiruru]

You could easily argue for the Crossbell arc as the greatest JRPG ever Judging by your footage; I can tell Rixia is def your waifu lol

[@blackyraypatrick9041]

I absolutely feel this i got trails of cold steel 3 first and afterwards bought part 1 and 2. To play part 3 again after i know the beginning of the story. Maybe I will go even further back

[@KentHamson]

I just bought the imports of these games. I am so excited to try them out. This was a great video to get me ready.

[@EdgyEmoLoliconBoy]

My most favorite duology

[@shounen_saturday4665]

Don't forget Akatsuki no Kiseki game on PS Vita.

[@andrewstencel]

Those were some amazing games. Sure, their translations were not perfect, but offered memorable experiences nonetheless.

[@amigosmundousa2246]

Crossbell arc happen before Cold of steel but dev created a new game related to the events of crossbell and cold of steel 2 both games released in Japan meaning suck for hardcore players of the serie.

[@LazySamurai1354]

i recently finished the really rough fan translation of Zero, i really enjoyed it now i need to play Ao.

[@deiruru]

I'm surprised you didn't care for the VO; I think it's brilliant

[@Artimes.]

These games are not officially released by the fansub so is this the leaked version that had all kinds of gramatical errors, glitches and even some stuff not translated? If it is, this review doesn't hold much credibilty to me.

[@TarksGauntlet]

The only thing that doesn't work in this is the slot machines in the casino. Everything is translated. No other glitches. Grammatical errors exist and the frequency of them depends on which edit of the translation you're working with, of which there are multiple. Do some research, you'll be pleasantly surprised with what you find. I wouldn't hold up what 1 random fansub says to determine legitimacy.

[@Gomezli16]

Wow, you captured some crisp hd footage. I never seen the game look that good.

[@Eccual]

The ending of the arc felt bittersweet

[@Next-xm2dh]

Yep, I hope they Take crossbell Back

[@lioneart19]

To be honest this setting entices me more than the rest of the Trails series, maybe I should begin with it.

[@yohanzeta]

Crossbell

[@8wealthyone8]

Good show! Can you please do top games of all times series: racers; rpg; shooters; puzzlers etc. thanks

[@agentj6258]

Just finished these two about a month ago, so good

[@advmx3]

I really wish Falcom to grow so big that they can start localizing their games themselves. Because man, having to wait every single game to be localized by XSEED or NISA won't be easy xD

[@topnep1]

Currently playing cold steel 3, totally forgot crossbell arc games exist. Guess I'll play them too. Randy is cool, btw :D

[@JRPGforlife]

Man I wish falcom would do an all in one remastered package edition for ps4 for all the trails games

[@AAhmou]

That will be like 800 hours worth of content... And by that time it might as well be for PS5.

[@joecelbetonio7110]

Im playing the psp version for these arc. Man the translation sometimes its really bad. And have bugs like the cooking crashed. But serviceable nevertheless

[@TarksGauntlet]

The Fan TL for Zero is complete now and pretty darn high quality so if you haven't tracked that one down I'd highly recommend it. Unfortunately for Ao there's still only the really rough one.

[@JRPGforlife]

I didn't think there would be a game that would top Sky SC until I played Ao. This game for me is by far the best the series has to offer the crazy narrative, amount of plot twits and reveals, very memorable ost and captures the tensions of the atmosphere. I truly believe that Ao is the pinnacle of the series so far not to mention the fantastic final boss theme which is azure abirator

[@Playcool18]

Sky SC was my favorite too, until I played CS III, which payed just the right amount of homenage to the Sky trilogy, and probably Crossbell, while also picking on previous CS games and moving things forward. If To Azure is as good as SC, I will be very happy indeed, the worst problem of SC was by far that I played it on hard, and the game had an horrible checkpoint system, typical of games from that era.

[@578t7645uyb5]

The best Trails of arc!

[@mr.genatix-hardstyleandtra800]

I am now playing all the games in release order so that I Will be ready when Cold Steel 3 drops. I am now in chapter 2 from Trails In The Sky SC.

[@seanscarborough4023]

Sky is awesome. I'm on part 1 of steel rn. Loving it I wish falcom would give us an English version of these.

[@seanscarborough4023]

Sky is awesome, I'm currently on part 1 of steel. I'm loving it. I wish falcom would bring these over to America officially. I want them

[@melr.5492]

Wow, you have a lot of great stuff ahead of you. I've been doing the same for the past year or so, and now I'm finally nearing the end of CS2. It was a great ride, hope you enjoy it!

[@mr.genatix-hardstyleandtra800]

I Will! Thanks Guys! :)

[@megamike15]

even if you never play cold steel[ i personally can't run the games as my laptop is to old and i'm not a fan of the school setting]. with out spoilers you should play the crossbell games if your a fan of the the sky games as zero wraps up a lingering plot thread left un resolved in 3rd.

[@ZeroHayabusa]

Can you review Ys Origin please? It's an Action RPG made by the same company who make the Legend of Heroes games and I'm curious to hear what you think of it.

[@maltamessiah6493]

cannot wait for an English version of this game *both for the Steam & PS4 console* AIDIOS!

[@TheDragonpaul22]

I know you said you should not talk about where you got the fan translations but you should bring up the fan translation redoing them and adding quality updates to the PC version. Like turbo mode, mouse control, and lastly 60 fps. They also provide links to where to legally buy the game. But hey I'm glad this arc is getting more attention. In my opinion its the best one!

[@klissattack]

So wouldn't the burst system be just like overdrive in CS2?

[@JRPGforlife]

It pretty much is except cold steel's 2 is more nerfed

[@johnle1535]

I know the feeling.. I wanna gush about it to people but theyll never understand without playing it lmao.

[@Morbisus]

Ao no Kiseki ending blew my mind and instantly became my favorite Trails game so far. Sad that we don't have official localization of this game and people are missing out on how amazing the Crossbell arc is.

[@plebugen9659]

I started playing the kiseki games with CS1 and I now have to wait an eternaty untilly they finally port sc3 to pc so this seems like a perfect time to play all the old games

[@00r99]

i agree with you, ao no kiseki is the best jrpg ive ever played, will you do a spoiler video about this games in the future? :)

[@DeltathRiylaan]

I've been holding off on the entire franchise because I'm really, really hopeful it'll come to Switch. But if there's no info regarding that by the time the fourth Cold Steel game comes out here, I'll just dive in.

[@seanscarborough4023]

Might be a while bro. We finally get part 3 in November of this year (cant wait!) Lord knows when they localize part 4. Lol HookedOnTrails.

[@DeltathRiylaan]

@@seanscarborough4023 I'm patient.

[@seanscarborough4023]

Apparently lol I'm far from it.

[@luminous3558]

It won't come to switch. All the older games don't sell at all because they are visually unappealing(muh graphics) and the franchise is incredibly niche. Even going so far as translating the Crossbell games is gonna be pushed back till we get Hajimari as they would probably prefer a game that is up to current gen graphics and is expected to well as opposed to 2 games from 2010-2012 that look exactly like Sky.

[@OmegaMetroid93]

Might be a silly question, but.. Is this spoiler free?

[@lordvasileLive]

I will repeat myself on this clearly. Ao No Kiseki if you have any fan version of it! It's definitely a failed version, because anyone who has played a proper copy since my recent attempts(2015) is definitely a hacker that screw over the fan version or the up-loader himself.

[@TarksGauntlet]

Not sure 4 Years ago is "recent," but what makes you feel the fan tl fails?

[@lordvasileLive]

@@TarksGauntlet I played and beat zero flawlessly. Tho I could NEVER get Ao No kiseki too work from emulation. It was still all in Japanese and the subtitles were obviously not fan made due to its sexual text.

[@gabrielike1370]

I can play this with the PSP English rom on a PSP emulator

[@gatopard77]

tarks arent you bothered of how weak the cast is and that does not do a lot of things you would do if you were there? protagonist feel same Rean humble not thirsty for more power and self improvement and dont react to many things in a intresting way too bland i would say, and always overpraise others exept the MC and when MC is overpraised like in cold steel 3 is undeserved , a character with real power and the character of cold steel 3 Ash, or ID from xenogears , would be so much more intresing , instead of trying to win the prize for the most humble person, and the fotage you have showed like lecter groping some , he could smash his face how fun that would be

[@TarksGauntlet]

But... Ash and Id were kind of the bad guys lol. I don't think I would be like them in any of these situations. But no, I don't see a problem with how they ever react in general.

[@gatopard77]

@@TarksGauntlet not really bad guys and i dont be to be exact like them but someone with real talents and the means to turn what he is thinking in to a reality and that is power ofc i ment it more like anarchist then a bad guy to spice things up , instead of being a normal person imean what the fun in that? and especialy in those games its like you fighing arianhod for example then you beat her woot sorry i had holding back sorry i was not serious this is bull#@# lol

[@WindXadepts]

9:58 ΣΣ(ﾟДﾟ;)

[@RobinLSL]

Nitpick: it's not the "Trails of" series, given that its first game is "Trails *in* the Sky".

[@TarksGauntlet]

You're right, that is a nit pick lol. Typically I'd just say "trails series," but years of "tales of" has made adjusting strange.

[@davegutz8812]

Hey Tarks! Hope you could review Senran Kagura Peach Ball. I got the game but I'd like to hear your opinion on it.

[@TheJbrown60]

best arc

[@melodiasrojas8428]

I gona play this 2 games for the first time thanks for the review

[@EdgyEmoLoliconBoy]

Evolution version's english patch please

[@midnightroseofversailles7768]

Wow - I can see that you get through games alot faster than I do, lol. If your reviews are anything to go by we both started playing the series from the start at around the same time, but currently I'm on the finally chapter of TITS3rd (just finishing up all the doors). I was trying to play every preceding game before Cold Steel's PS4 release but didn't make it in time 😭 Granted, I play each game on Nightmare, do every side quest/extra thing and am busy with work and school as well. (Also I just tend to rack up 150+ hours in any JRPG I play anyways) Anyways, my Limited Ed of Cold Steel should be arriving in the mail soon (preordered it the second preorders went up) so I'll probably end up playing Cold Steel at the same time as the Cross bell games - which shouldn't be too bad? TL;DR: I took too long to finish up TITS3RD, probably gonna play Crossbell games and Erebonia games at the same time.

[@TarksGauntlet]

I actually had this review ready in early January lol. Was just waiting for a good time to release it. I done most side quests with sky. Not as much in cross bell. My performance issues had me looking to mostly just do the story this time. But I definitely don't play on nightmare haha. You are a brave warrior.

[@naterivers6107]

Apparently the president of Falcom Japan had an interview a few months after this video where he straight up says Crossbell is getting an American release. Like it's not even a wink and a nudge, he straight up says its happening. gematsu.com/2019/07/falcom-teases-modern-ports-of-the-legend-of-heroes-zero-no-kiseki-and-ao-no-kiseki

[@TarksGauntlet]

Yup! I talk about this in a video that should be dropping over the weekend. It's brief, but I don' think we're quite "Guaranteed" yet. He iterated that he's very very interested in bringing it over, he just has to find a "Partner" willing and worthy of doing it. That's the tough part. The translations job is going to be huge and difficult, and sales probably not as profitable as most companies would like. I'm holding out hope though.

[@naterivers6107]

@@TarksGauntlet If they can market it as a bridge between Sky and Cold Steel, I think a lot of people would go for it.

[@naterivers6107]

@@TarksGauntlet Also this article came out just today discussing the next Cold Steel game, andremasters of some of the Trails games. My guess is they are the Crossbell games. www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-11-07/trails-series-next-game-to-launch-in-japan-by-september-2020/.153058

[@advmx3]

I need to play these games. But for some reason, the flickering and the screen trying to close itself all of the time is making it really difficult. I'll probably wait for the official localization that willhappen only after the Sen4 is localized because of reasons. xD My problem with these fan translations is that since it's not a ported game for our current gen PC's sometimes some bugs can happen, and a screen tryin to close itself all of the time is one of them xD

[@TarksGauntlet]

Have you tried using the "Borderless gaming" app? Its been a little bit, but I believe I used that to force a borderless fullscreen windowed mode.

[@luminous3558]

If you are still waiting you should check out the recently released Geofront fantranslation. They did an amazing job localizing the game and also fixed a lot of technical issues.

[@blackyraypatrick9041]

Why are opinions about crossbell arc so divided. There are so many fans who count this as the best arc and others recommend to just skip crossbell and tell it's more less than a copy of trails of sky....

[@TarksGauntlet]

"A copy of sky" seems... like a very wild thing to say about it haha. The games maybe function similar by they tell their own distinctly different story. If anybody skipped crossbell for any reason I'd assume its because some of the big events are spoiled in Cold Steel 1 and 2 as the 2 games take place at the same time, but even then, you don't get the full picture unless you play it.

[@blackyraypatrick9041]

@@TarksGauntlet as somebody who doesn't know both arcs i can not tell what brings them to this conclusion. It was told that everything which happens in sky happens also to crossbell so it's the similar story. (Of course with different characters) I have to say I would love to see a anime of this game. :) I really struggle with the idea of playing the old games because they are really really old fashioned :( Would love to find a lore videos Like how there were made many lore videos for destiny 2. To read and see everything important which happens.

[@Playcool18]

@@TarksGauntlet The only reason I skipped both Crossbell games till now was poor availability, and lack of time required to invest in them. Geofront fixed the first, when awhile ago they finished To Azure, and as for time, I had a bit after I finished Cold Steel 3 last year. Now that I just bought CS 4, but not being in a good place yet to invest on it (CS III took me at least 140h, which I loved but was binging like crazy), I started From Zero 2 days ago, and should later this summer start CS IV. Tbh I did not pay for the Japanese release, and thank god I did ddl those patchs before geofront removed them, I would not want to wait for the official release in 2022, and I would be pissed if I had payed for the Japanese game and then again for the official, so I wont mind just buy them on steam when they come out in 2022, to check what changed FROM the geofront version (they are taking their time with the process, so I do hope something changes).

[@R3DGaming]

What's going on at 00:27 lol

[@TarksGauntlet]

Research.

[@hou9133]

U should use evo version as footage, that’s a great upgrade to me, fully voice on dialogue, new cutscene

[@TarksGauntlet]

That'ss a bit out of my means to do right now unless I wanted to steal footage of somebody elses playthrough. I'd rather stick with my own footage when/where I can.

[@plebugen9659]

man rewatching this review and seeing the original guren translation makes my head hurt

[@TarksGauntlet]

It was all we had! ALL WE HAD! AND WE WERE DESPERATE! Still though, it was pretty rough, but I was grateful for it.

[@totalpartykill999]

now we just need TIS 3rd translation...

[@DevilHunter1994]

Trails in the Sky the 3rd? That was released on Steam in English years ago.

[@totalpartykill999]

@@DevilHunter1994 somebody need to do it for PSP

[@HIIIMM2]

Zero/Ao>Sky>cold steel. change my mind ;-;

[@FuIIDiveVR]

Story aside, Crossbell was far to balanced to be any fun and got held back massively due to being a psp native title.. (S-Crafts and Art quality was poor) Sky, on the other hand, was basically perfect. Textures and art meshed so well ad were consistent. Sound quality and sound variety was impeccable, (I really miss casting Sylpharion and Zodiac from these games) I can't really comment on CS yet since I'm still playing catch up but I believe if the Crossbell arc was a PC native title, I would mostly agree with you.

[@JRPGforlife]

@@FuIIDiveVR Have to agree with although I played sky and crossbell on my phone

[@luminous3558]

@@FuIIDiveVR Aside from the horrible Psp UI that feels very claustrophobic, gameplay was very good in Zero and Azure. FC is a slog in no small part due to Estelle being trash in terms of gameplay and crafts being completely outclassed by Arts. SC and 3rd are a lot better in that regard. Azure is probably my favorite in terms of gameplay as it introduces many of the features which make up the coldsteel games but retains the old arts system, master arts are also very fun so i'm sad that we never got them back. Coldsteel is just too broken as a game, everything is OP that unless you restrict yourself from using any of the many broken systems it will not be challenging. Difficulty scaling in this series has always been bad as it just makes the early game impossibly hard and slow while it evaporates later on once you enter the usual "earth wall spam while buffing and beating down the boss" mode or 100% evasion among other things.

[@dra6o0n]

Nihon Falcom is sorta... in a slump lately with their music studio.

[@mgobd258]

dra6o0n no it's still good I will agree with you on sen 3 but sen 4 has a lot of good tracks

[@dr.jimeagleii4108]

So glad we've got fan translations of these. So far the first one is a masterpiece

[@TarksGauntlet]

And the translations now are way better than this leaked copy I played too.

[@iwanttoputkamuistoesinmymo5938]

Honestly i recommend playing cold steel 1 before crossbell. It adds alot more weight to the events in chapter 2 and 4 of ao having seen the events from the erebonia perspective. Its how i went about it and im really glad i did

[@TarksGauntlet]

Yeah, I can't say Osbourne's appearances would have been as intimidating had I not played cold steel first.

[@luminous3558]

I kinda would've liked to play the games in release order instead of starting with CS1 and CS2 and then going back. It gives us a lot of information that makes CS more bearable. You get a better idea of Lechter, Rean's Demon power and some other things. Most importantly I feel like Zero has to be played after SC and 3rd just to keep things fresh in your mind when it comes to Renne's story. Coldsteel 1 is so far removed from anything prior to it that it will feel very jaring to go from Sky 3rd to it and then to Zero or put it in between both Crossbell games.

[@DeadEye364]

Man i wish there was a summary/recap for the crossbell arc

[@oaksterful]

There is but it's really long. Look for LadyVirgilia . Looking for a shorter version myself.

[@MsSaskue360]

Really excited to play. Trails of cold steel again this tuesday with japnese audio instead of playing it with voices turn of in the vita version.

[@krimzonstriker7534]

Look if English Dub isn't your thing then whatever but I personally felt the English VA did a fantastic job and put in a lot of effort that deserves respect. Just my two cents to anyone reading this comment that the quality of the actual dub itself is among the best I've heard.

[@MsSaskue360]

@@krimzonstriker7534 cool I don't have a problem with you liking the English dub go right ahead but every person is different and will have different taste so people like me have zero interest in dubs and rather play it muted than with the English dub which I can do because I play old school jrpgs with no voice acting so lack of voices isn't that big of a deal for me that's how I play dragon quest 11 the way it was design to be played.

[@krimzonstriker7534]

@@MsSaskue360 To each their own, just want to clarify that ones taste does not speak to the quality of the work anymore then say Persona 4 or 5 whose quality I equate to the VA work done in the Kiseki series thus far.

[@MsSaskue360]

@@krimzonstriker7534 that's cool o wish persona 4 golden would get a remaster with Japanese va as rise is my favorite character and being voice by the great kugiyama Rie, one of my favorite vas in anime voicing a lot of tsunderes and haruka from the yakuza series, at least the anime exist and the games can just be play muted, but it's great the atlus is finally giving dual audio, I know it much suck for you that persona q2 is only in Japanese u get to see the pain that I had to endure with persona 4, persona q one, trails of cold steel 1 and 2 though I can handle do to being able to mute it and not having a problem with mute.

[@krimzonstriker7534]

@@MsSaskue360 I love Kugiyama but Rise is not a tsundere so I found her Japanese voice take kind of grating and thought that she didn't do a good job during Rise's more serious/somber moments, coming across as more pouty and whiny almost. Laura Bailey is a goddess in the English VA community and I felt she did a better job balancing out the different aspects of Rise's personality IMO. Sometimes it's hit of miss, but quality of work to me isn't limited by language, it's either done well or it isn't in the end. In this series for example, I felt Rean was way too passive in Japanese compared to Sean Chiplock's version/take on him which made the character a bit more well rounded and animated/energetic when it was appropriate. That only felt like it got worse in CS III and IV, which is a real shame because I love Kouki Uchiyama but felt he didn't balance the character of Rean out very well in comparison to say his role as Banaghar Links or Roxas from Kingdom Hearts.

[@BinaryDood]

wait, what do you mean Second Game. Zero has 2 games as well?

[@TarksGauntlet]

Trails to zero, and trails to ao. They're the 2 entries in the crossbell arc.

[@BinaryDood]

@@TarksGauntlet so iso I found for Zero is only the first game?

[@JRPGforlife]

Even though I played it through my phone it was such a great experience, can't wait for CS4 later this year

[@TarksGauntlet]

On a phone?! That's gotta say something great about the series in some way right? These earlier games can run on ANYTHING! So if you have a will to play, you probably have a way!

[@JRPGforlife]

@@TarksGauntlet Yeah I just downloaded a psp emulator and looked for english patches of each game, It was nice to actually play them for once instead of watching a summary or walkthrough

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

Great review!