As one story ends another begins. This is what brings us to Crossbell. A city state sandwiched between two political superpowers seemingly hanging on by a thread to stay afloat of outside influences. However not everything is what it seems on the surface. Crossbell is corrupt and is very limited on what it can do to fix its own issues. And only the SSS can change Crossbell's wrongdoings from within.

I love the SSS man. Every member is so fun to see and their interactions are priceless. The squad is so diverse in personality and yet they mesh so well. Even their battle styles are different. Seeing the SSS slowly get the recognition they deserve is such a payoff. They aren't just a copy of the bracer guild and made their own identity.

I find the setting of Crossbell to be very engaging especially since the state is small enough to where you are able to get to know every character including the npcs and really connect with the characters when shit hits the fan. It also isn't small to the point where you get tired of the same locations. This can also be implied due to how well this game uses its map. Like it just makes sense that you have to go all over Crossbell to retrieve an overdue book or partake in a fishing contest at the sandbar.

As always Trails and of course Falcom delivers on its soundtrack. Like every time this track played I was on the edge of my seat because I knew I had to lock in. Another great soundtrack that the music is all it takes to change your mood in an instant.

Can't talk about Zero without a certain character's journey that has spanned over 3 games now. Definetly one of the best character journeys I have seen in a video game. Every time they are on screen I always get emotional. There is just something about how its handled that it's truly special.

From what this game concludes off of, I really wonder how Azure will start off because Zero had a pretty conclusive ending but definetly has questions that needs to be answered. Just like us as the player, the SSS still doesn't know all of the answers on the why of how Crossbell functions but if we just get over the barrier only then we can seek the truth and justice be served.

"But what we need right now is the experience of overcoming these kinds of obstacles. Think about it, clear the small barriers one by one… If we do that, then someday, we’ll have the power to get over the taller barriers, too. "

Edit: NEVERMIND I HAD A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP THIS IS THE BEST SETUP GAME BESIDES UTAWARERUMONO 2, HOLY SHIT SOME OF THE MOMENTS IN THIS WERE EMOTIONAL AND HIT HARD, AND WE EVEN HAVE BETTER DOROTHY

I had no complaints with Zero until the last chapter, which was a bit of an underwhelming payoff, but until that point it was basically a perfect "setup game" with no dull moments. None of my issues from Sky FC are in this.

Aside from the mildly underwhelming finale, the "BRO WE'RE A CINEMATIC UNIVERSE BROOOOO" issue that I've been fearing with this series rears its head. In some aspects, it's really cool, what with the payoff for a character's arc in SC and 3rd (I started crying from it, it was so emotional). In others, you have the corny MCU thing of "heh, looks like I got here just in time!" and "wow [Crossbell character], you remind me of [Sky character]!" happening multiple times. I expect it to get both better with the payoffs, and worse with the corniness. But you take the good with the bad, I guess.

Otherwise, this is definitely one of the best JRPGs and videogames I've played. The combat system, characters, music, improved visuals from Sky, the Crossbell atmosphere, all of these contributed to a very fun experience. Can't wait for what Azure has in store.

It's not as good as Sky 3rd but I like the SSS a lot. By far my favorite cast of main characters. There's some filler and slow moments but it wasn't enough to make me loathe it like FC.

Trails burnout kicking in and it's definitely because of the fact these games are so fucking long. The writing's good and all but after Sky trilogy, I don't think this series has anything left that's going to really impress me.

Yeah, Zero's great. Sky 3rd is phenomenal, but I feel like I'm playing the series not because I really want to but because it's a ride that I've hopped on and it'd be weird to jump off it right in the middle.

Two games of build up... absolutely incredible

The rest of the game was great too. The SSS are a fun bunch. The gameplay was nicer too. I did almost all the side quests which I normally never do so goes to show how much I enjoyed it.

Overall: PEAK.

Holy shit, trails finally hooked me. This game is easily the best one in the series so far imo with its incredibly entertaining cast and tight pacing. Very emotional at points too with Renne's arc and Lloyd's desire to protect KeA being the highlights. I really loved Lloyd and Randy's dynamic a lot too. Really hyped for azure now.

The weak link of the game sadly are its villains which aren't that great with the main villain in particular being laughable at points.

It took a long ass while but trails has finally clicked for me, and it took the barrier man Lloyd Bannings to do it.

Forever my favorite arc. Gosh, I cry every time when the scenes with Renne or Tio start to hit. I remember how I first didn’t like Randy that much back then (I never disliked him, though), but chapter by chapter, I started to love this bro so much. This game even manages to make me like a dude like Dudley.

This game manages so well to present you the overarching story without letting you realize it from the start. Just near the ending, you realize how much of the overarching story happened right at the start. What seemed like subplots at first turns out to be one of the best happenings of a complex and mind fckn conspiracy.

First time on Nightmare this time. First Nightmare experience in Trails ever. That was an experience. Loved and enjoyed it so much!

If I could pick one game that I had to play forever, it would be Trails from Zero.

this series is so good

this game has a really strong early-mid game, but towards the late game you will get a "oh we're doing this again" feeling. just feels a bit too similar to the late games of sky SC and sky 3rd for my liking. it also drags a bit and doesn't have an extremely satisfying conclusion (except for estelle/joshua/renne which even that felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic)

i love the SSS, the fact that the main cast is so much smaller than in sky/cold steel makes it way easier to get attached as the characters get much needed screen time and development. but admittedly, the supporting cast and antagonists are weaker than in sky and cold steel. the main antagonist, albeit with slightly different ambitions, is just weissmann 2.0 to the very end

Earnest and empowering, in short. Trails from Zero is an incredibly powerful game that feels like a battle shonen in video game form, mixed with the long term storytelling, ambitious world building, and the mind bogglingly deep lore of Kiseki that results in a video game that combines the best of both and works perfectly, primarily because of how every element from the two spectrums I mentioned are glued together seamlessly through Lloyd bannings. On the surface, Lloyd seems like a perfectly normal main character with a clear cut moral code, but what makes Lloyd so compelling are the small neat bits of characterization that hint at a deeper, darker side to him that he grapples with without even realising it. It kind of fits with Crossbell’s setting too, because in a way, much like Lloyd, Crossbell looks like a perfectly stable peaceful state, but is actually run by the absolute worst, corrupt politicians. In the same way, Lloyd puts on an unbreakable facade and tries to be an invincible hero with an unflinchingly optimistic attitude, but on the inside, he’s the same kid that lost his brother, hasn’t moved on, and is stuck chasing after his shadow even after he died.


This is something that I absolutely adore when it comes to world building, where it feels like the city is a breathing, living character who’s tied to the main characters leading it, and that applies to Crossbell where it’s all about exploring your own truth and finding meaning to it on your own terms, because in Lloyd’s journey of uncovering his truth, he began uncovering Crossbell’s identity as well, and that acted as a genius backdrop for Crossbell’s theme of truth. Going back to Lloyd for a bit, as I mentioned, the parts of him that make him stand out to me are the small bits of characterization that people who call him boring often times miss, the small bits that show how caught up he is in his own brother’s shadow, how they seep into his mundane day to day life events, and how self damaging that can be.


When it comes to trauma, we often times unintentionally bottle it up for our self preservation since they’re unexpected, yet in spite of that, they seep into our mundane day to day life no matter how much we sugarcoat it and spreads its disease into our social interaction, which is my favorite form of portrayal of trauma and is why I adore Lloyd so much. He tries to put on Guy’s persona of an unstoppable hero that everyone can rely on even when it comes at his own expense, yet the person he forgets to save is himself, and it’s never explicitly told that this is what he struggles with until the near end of Zero because up until that point, Lloyd’s struggles are portrayed through his behaviour and it’s up to the player to infer what he goes through in comparison to the cast. In this sense, we’re put into Lloyd’s comrades’ shoes, have our intelligence tested by trying to infer what he himself goes through despite his seemingly normal demeanour, and that’s what makes the eventual exploration of Lloyd’s issues and his admittance to his insecurities hit so hard, because we as the player already could infer what he goes through yet ignores and are simply waiting for him to recognize that part of him. It’s an incredibly effective yet unique way of telling a main character’s arc through perspective, and that goes well with Crossbell’s themes about perception and truth, because even if Lloyd seems normal when we first perceive him, he is the exact opposite of that and that plays well into what Crossbell is trying to tell about the concept of truth.


Time and time again, from start to finish, Lloyd’s insecurities are shown through his actions even from the get go, where he was prepared to throw his life away to save the SSS from the geofront monster before Arios came in to save the day, and that’s not just because of the goodness of his heart but because that’s what his image of Guy would do in a situation like this. In this sense, you can say that when Guy died, Lloyd’s sense of self split into two, the part of him that admires Guy and the part of him that feels worthless in comparison to him and chases a far fetched shadow of his, forever stuck in an endless whirlpool of insecurities and living on auto-pilot mode. To illustrate further, whenever Lloyd accomplishes something, or is praised for having a good trait, he always denies that praise and credits it to Guy, which might seem like its Lloyd being humble, but in reality, it’s much more complicated and sadder. The reason for this is that Lloyd doesn’t take credit for those accomplishments or traits of his because he views them as Guy’s, or rather, the traits/accomplishments of his image of Guy that he only inhabits because of his desire to be like Guy. As such, when he does a good deed, or embodies a good trait, it’s to chase after that image of Guy first and foremost, and since those traits and actions are motivated by his desire to catch up to Guy, not just his own good will, it feels wrong to take credit for that because it doesn’t truly feel like his. He disassociates from those good deeds because they were coloured by his unhealthy admiration towards Guy and while motivated by his good will, that good will is only a secondary reason. It’s why in chapter 2 after Lloyd gives Ellie a corny friendship speech and Ellie asks him how he can be so optimistic, Lloyd doesn’t take credit for that and instead thanks Guy for it. While that’s definitely because Lloyd loves Guy, it’s also because he doesn’t believe in himself to be great enough to be that capable and strong on his own. Lloyd’s arc is all about finding balance between his image of Guy and who Guy really was, it’s about repairing his sense of self after it was shattered by how much he revered Guy and attached his individuality to him, and that’s makes Lloyd such a sympathetic main character to me, because in his attempt to find meaning in Guy’s death, he forgot to find meaning in his self, and that’s what enabled him to connect with the SSS members on such a spiritual level. At their core, Randy, Lloyd, Tio, and Ellie, are all incredibly lonely individuals with no place to call home, and that’s what enabled Lloyd to guide them and be their leader.


All of what I said about Lloyd up until now has been purely analytical, but on a personal note, there are small bits and pieces of dialogue that Lloyd said that truly connected with me, the biggest of them being when he told Randy that as strange as it is, he can finally accept that he can be his own man, reach his ultimate potential, and be satisfied, as opposed to a few months ago. This sentiment rung true to me personally, because I have an older brother that I admire and feel the need to chase after as well, yet despite being told countless times that I just need to keep being me, it all felt like hollow garbage to me that meant nothing, until lately after years of practising self love and self care, where I’ve come to identify and appreciate my own worth beyond my brother’s. It made me feel seen, because with Lloyd, the truth of his being and his surroundings and their meaning started and ended with him. This sentiment is reflected in the concept I mentioned above with Crossbell being like a living, breathing character on its own, where by overcoming his own barriers and finding his truth, Lloyd was able to understand the ins and outs of what Crossbell’s conflicts pertain, break the status quo, and change Crossbell for the better, like the hero he had hoped to become after initially running away from the city he treasured. In the end, it was all about perspective.


Truth be told, I didn’t really plan on writing such a long form piece on Crossbell mainly cause I wanted to do that once I was done with Azure, but I couldn’t really stop myself once I started expressing my passion for this game and what it made me feel. I guess that’s what happens when you let your own words flow and come together to form a pattern of thoughts instead of limiting yourself, and maybe that’s what Trails has become to me. Something that allows me to be ‘’free’’, and that’s why I’ve come to adore it and adore talking about it so much. In a word, though, Lloyd’s earnest nature is what made Crossbell’s cast (and me) love him, and through that love, he was able to find meaning to himself and have several white women wanting to fuck him.

me coloque numa sala com 20 pessoas que dão “dicas de escrita” e só eu sairei vivo, causando explosões e derretimentos só com a força negativa que mentalizarei cada vez que alguém falar que “mostre, não conte!” é uma regra indiscutível. com meu martelo de Depende em mãos eu destruirei todos os guias sem asteriscos.

trails from zero não deixa de contar para mostrar, mas acredito que pela limitação estética que os spritezinhos charmosos tem, ele acaba se sentindo na obrigação de mostrar que está sendo contado. as aspirações literárias da série não são segredo pra ninguém — levante uma pedra e quatro fãs de trails vão te falar que o SC tem não sei quantas mil palavras a mais que senhor dos anéis, descasque uma cebola e nove vão enxugar os olhos antes de te dizer alguma frase com a palavra “worldbuilding”, e chacoalhe uma árvore se encontrar alguma — mas por estarmos em uma tela (e não em uma folha), a sentença “’Você está preso!’ Lloyd disse, exalando coragem” não cabe numa caixa de diálogo, que, portanto, é substituída por “Você está preso!”, seguida pela observação “como o Lloyd parece corajoso enquanto diz isso!” de outro personagem. pelo menos um quarto dos diálogos do jogo envolve um outro personagem apontando que o personagem que acabou de dizer X está no estado Y, ou te explicando como aquilo se relaciona com outro evento que rolou dez horas atrás. não dá pra só se referir pelo nome (afinal, não dá pra voltar as páginas!), então toda informação nova precisa ser cheia de apêndices diegéticos pra não deixar ninguém pra trás. de certa forma, dá pra ver isso como consideração (e eu não pretendo nunca prezar pelo que "respeita minha inteligência", também), mas é também uma reação de vítima.

não é a pior coisa do mundo, mas a mitologia de que a Falcom sempre pensa nos jogos dessa série como um só e acaba dividindo em dois no meio da produção (Sky FC e SC, Zero e Azure, CS1 e 2, CS3 e 4) porque ficou maior do que o que foi projetado deve ser em partes por causa disso. eu não me importo muito com esse problema isolado (e acho que isso é uma das coisas que os fãs mais gostam), mas sinto que os desenvolvedores queriam se ver livres dessas amarras – até porque nos cold steel essa parte do texto já melhora consideravelmente (sendo que eu pessoalmente acho que os modelos 3D de CS1 e 2 são bem menos expressivos que os bonequinhos desses jogos que vieram antes) e a história toda continua funcionando de um jeito ótimo.

fico pensando se as coisas que desgostei não foram exacerbadas porque a base do lançamento oficial foi a tradução prévia feita por fãs e não por pessoas que tem alguma intimidade profissional com escrita artística, e por isso os personagens todos tem uma voz tão parecida e as descrições são daquele jeito.

o bom é que apesar disso esse jogo tem ótimas dungeons e eu adoro como o urbanismo pop de crossbell (todo mundo com carinha de soyjak deslumbrado com internet e energia elétrica, se sentindo foda porque não é república e nem império, etc) influencia e é influenciado igualmente nos aspectos sobrenaturais. a falcom é ótima em alimentar tanto a galera “intrigas políticas!” quanto a galera “aura de dragon ball na hora de lutar e robô gigante” que estão em constante contenda porque não percebem que a graça da série é justamente ter os dois. também achei super legal como o conceito de gnose aqui é mais próximo ao do nosso catolicismo (“certo tipo de conhecimento é perigoso e pode acabar com sua individualidade”), diferente de grande parte dos JRPGs em que ela é indubitavelmente boa e necessária moralmente para as pessoas descobrirem por si mesmas a raiz do bem e do mal. ela não é vista como herege e os apócrifos não são escondidos, mas se desenvolve como resultado de certo cientificismo que se demonstra laico mas não é. uma dinâmica bem original e facilmente refutada dependendo do rumo da história, também, então torna todo o caminho bem colorido.

cada vez que eu começo um jogo desses e lembro que ainda faltam outros seis cinco quatro pra eu chegar onde quero chegar na história me dá certo desânimo, mas aí chega o final e me motivo de novo, vendo as coisas lentamente se formando e ficando mais esotéricas, como todas as grandes obras. o descobrir das partes mais ocultas do mundo se dando tão lentamente acaba refletindo a vida real de um jeito inesperado, e aí vale a pena mesmo ver o sol nascer.

Before getting into Trails from Zero properly, I think it’s necessary to dive into its history in the West a little. The game was originally released in Japan in 2010 on PSP and due to how long localisation was taking with the Sky games, it was skipped over in favour of bringing over the Cold Steel games first. However due to Reverie acting as a finale to both the Crossbell and Cold Steel games, Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure were both quickly localised before the Western release of Reverie to allow fans to catch up. The localisation uses the extremely well done fan translation from Geofront as a base for its work and unfortunately skipped out being dubbed into English which is a shame having played the Sky games which had the battle dialogue dubbed. Knowing the reasoning behind this though does make it a lot easier to swallow so it’s not something I’m too hung up about and the Japanese cast are fantastic, it’s just a shame we miss out on the battle dialogue.

So, after the Sky trilogy Trails from Zero takes place in a new setting with a new cast of characters, acting as a brand new arc for the longer running narrative that the series has. There’s familiar faces and mentions of past events but otherwise the story here is very much focused on new protagonist Lloyd and the Special Support Squad he has become a part of in Crossbell City. The SSS act as a rookie branch of police who have come under fire from the public after not doing their jobs while the Bracer Guild have been gaining all the plaudits because they have actually been helping people. The SSS are basically the police version of the Guild, taking up requests to help people in need while also trying to solve crimes that the wider police force have been letting slip. While the core gameplay loop of solving requests and main story plot points is very similar to how the first two Sky games played, it’s also pretty cool seeing a rivalry form between the SSS and the Guild as well as the little differences in what both sides are allowed to do under their rules.

The SSS squad consists of four members: Lloyd, Elie, Randy, and Tio. Unlike Sky that had a constantly rotating cast outside of Estelle and Joshua for the most part, Zero starts you off with these four immediately and has a few rotating guest party members. It’s a nice approach as the main focus is on the four SSS members and their growth together as they try to take on bigger and bigger jobs to help unravel the corruption that Crossbell is drowning in. Zero has a more focused approach to its narrative dealing with a small party in a much smaller State and it works well with this. In true Trails fashion, the slow burn is real here. The game takes its time to slowly unravel more and more about each of its characters to ensure everyone gets their own moments to shine. Lloyd is the glue that keeps everyone together, often giving cheesy speeches to help lift the others up in their times of need. He’s optimistic and there’s a lovable charm about him as he overcomes the barriers he faces. Elie works hard and is serious about her job but also faces many doubts about the path she chose. Randy is our flirt of the group and is very fun loving, especially with gambling but as you start to uncover his past you grow to understand how hard his life has been. Tio is extremely reserved with her emotions but also incredibly smart with technology. She’s a character who has suffered much in her past so it hits hard when you see her growing more and more comfortable with the group. Together the SSS squad make a fantastic little family of characters and there’s a lot to love as you watch them grow closer throughout the game. However there is a minor nitpick with a new mechanic introduced in this game - bonding. Throughout the game there’s several events and ways for Lloyd to build up his bond with each member of the SSS, including three story events where you can choose a character to accompany him. Once you reach max bond with a character you’ll be able to view a special scene between them and Lloyd towards the end of the game, however you can only do this with one character per playthrough. These events include some important stuff for each character, including Lloyd, so it sucks that you have to be very particular with how you raise bond levels and maintain multiple saves if you want to see everything without replaying the game multiple times. Apart from that the character development is really good and it’s really easy to love each member of the SSS team, especially with how much time you’ll spend with them.

Crossbell State is an interesting setting. Instead of going round in a loop like you did in Liberl, your main hub area is smack bang in the centre known as Crossbell City with routes to the four compass directions leading to towns and other important locations. Because of this you spend a lot of time in Crossbell City and it’s easy to become attached to the place as you explore its various districts and meet its wonderful citizens. Whether it’s the nosy reporter Grace, or the eccentric gangs that grow to respect you, or the wonderful performers of the Arc de Ciel, Crossbell is a very homely place and one you’ll grow into wanting to protect. However Crossbell is also full of corruption and seedy dealings. It’s home to a unique political situation having been born from both the Empire of Erebonia and the Republic of Calvard. Due to this it’s political set up is balanced between those in support of the Empire or the Republic and they prevent any reforms from the Mayor coming through due to their need to not cede ground to the other. This is further emphasised by both sides having a mafia associated with them, Revache for the Empire and Heiyue for the Republic. Due to this, the government members are able to get corrupt dealings done while also having the power to put pressure on the justice system to look the other way. It leads to a wonderful dichotomy where there’s a lot of people who love Crossbell but there’s a house of cards ready to be blown over at any moment that could see the place crumble. It’s a state that is independent in name only as two forces struggle to gain control over it.
Crossbell is also a financially well off place, with Zemuria’s central bank being located here and technology being advanced enough for Orbal vehicles like cars available for the richest members of public and mobile communication being available through Orbments. It might be a small state but there’s a lot going on and it’s a fantastic setting for the game.

If you’ve played the Sky games then you will be aware of a few characters that had mentioned their intentions to go to Crossbell. Well a few familiar faces show up in this game and play a role in a secondary plot that runs alongside the main narrative. Without going too much into spoiler territory, Zero does an incredible job managing these two plot threads and superbly gets them to lead towards the same conclusion in a thrilling finale with a huge payoff for those who have been playing through all the games. I have seen people say you can start with Zero as it’s a new arc and features one of the more standalone stories in the series, which it does, it manages to wrap up with no huge cliffhanger and a few plot threads that the sequel can explore but at the same time, if you haven’t played the Sky games, you’re missing out on a lot of context for the secondary plot and losing out on a lot of impactful moments from seeing characters that you would’ve grown attached to or recognise from those games. I can understand the huge barrier a long running narrative can bring and wanting to find a starting point that doesn’t require a huge time sink but ideally you should probably play these games in release order for the best impact possible.

So Zero features another wonderful cast with a plot that slowly builds up into an epic finale and a supporting cast that are memorable in their own ways, leading to another fantastic experience. On the gameplay side of things this is a minor evolution on what came before it. You now have the ability to attack and stun enemies on the overworld allowing you to gain a better advantage in battle. New turn bonuses have been added, like the team attack where you get a Persona style all out attack sequence where everybody beats the crap out of the enemies on field. Some stuff from Sky the 3rd pops up in certain locations but otherwise it’s the same old Trails you know and love at its core with minor tweaks and adjustments. On the music side of things you’ve got another great soundtrack. I adore the hospital theme as it reminds me a little of the National Park theme in Pokemon Gen 2 and there’s an incredible track during the final day of Crossbell’s anniversary celebrations, so yeah the music side of things is excellent.

Zero is a wonderful start to a new arc, freshening up the cast and setting just as it was feeling a little needed. It manages to balance plot threads old and new and delivers another incredible experience carefully built up that explodes in a stunning finale. The focused approach on a smaller main cast and setting delivers a very cosy and heartwarming adventure where the found family and being accepted despite your past are the order of the day and it works so well. It doesn’t quite manage to hit the highs I had during Sky SC but it does deliver yet another brilliant RPG game to add to the library of Trails bangers.

Trails from Zero has possibly the best pacing of any introductory arc in the Kiseki series.
Even though I'm more fond of the parties from the Liberl arc and the Erebonia arc, I still had a good time with the SSS. However, the city of Crossbell and its geopolitical entanglements are a lot more interesting to me than Liberl as a setting. I didn't think that she, Estelle and Joshua would have such a big story relevance. So Trails from Zero also acts as an epilogue to the Lieberl arc and Renne's character arc. Which was handled pretty sweet.

8/10.

Olha eu gostei muito desse aqui.
Antes de mais nada, não terminei o 3rd porém avancei bastante o ""suficiente"" a não ficar perdido em trails zero.

Tenho uma teoria que todo jogo início de arco/pais, é meio fraco.
Zero tem uma estrutura narrativa que achei bem bacana, mas muitas decisões eu particularmente não achei bem realizadas, em minha visão é sky fc só que bem melhor, mas ainda é cansativo.

Demorei umas 35 horas pra terminar esse camarada, utilizei um guia pra tenta fazer 100 por cento e acabei nem chegando em 75%, porém foi um experiência afável.

Em suma foi uma boa experiência, curti bastante a gameplay desse camarada, jogar trails no hard e nightmare realmente empolga, sinto uma certa similaridade a smt, do sky sc em diante e ênfase em dar exploit em fraqueza e buffs nessas dificuldades tornou o combate bem mais divertido.

Gostei bastante dos combos craft, gostei bastante de do hud apesar de não ter mudado muito, mas ficou bem melhor, a câmera tbm e etc.

Esse jogo eu definiria como filler até o ch 3, mas não dá pra dizer que ele é totalmente, pq tá sendo apresentado muitos elementos da cidade, da geografia e populacao de crossbell, somado ao fato que ser policial não ter uma mudança tão interessante em sistema de quests e etc, me desapontou, é re-skin de mecânica dos bracers.

Sério eu fiz acho que quase todas as sides, faltando só 2 que tava cansado na reta final, a versão de vita te mais conteúdo que a de PS4,Switch, PSP e PC, mas não é tão ruim assim.

Em suma gostei da ambientação, foi um build up bacana, porém senti que o sky fc fez um melhor no quesito de apresentação, ainda assim crossbell é viva.

Igual a sky fc, o plot só fica desencalha de vez nos dois últimos chs...
Então o pacing do sky é um slow burn lerdo pqp, jogar trails sem voz não tanko muito não, porém o pacing do zero é bem mais palatavel que o do sky, senti a progressão fluindo bem até.

(voice acting é absurdamente importante pra mim, talvez seja por isso demorei tanto pra termina o fc)

Antes de eu terminar, preciso falar sobre os personagens.... eu amei todos.

Diferente de sky onde eu demorei 2 jogos pra de fato me importar totalmente, zero me pegou de começo, talvez pela arte de katsumi enamo no char design ou os diálogos bem condensados apesar de ser heavy text, arquétipos bem realizados e bons contrapontos, uma ótima química, apesar de eu ter uns problemas quanto a porra do harém do llyod, coisa que reclamarei mais em azure, mas até aqui tá ok eu acho.

Randy maravilhoso
Tio bom personagem
Ellie bem padrão eu espero mais dela azure
KeA que coisinha fofa, dá vontade de proteger essa criatura.

Dudley achei interessante, espero mais dele no azure
Áries design foda e é um personagem que quebrou a primeira impressão de edgy que ele passou, gostei.
Rixia espero mais na sequel.

Wazy que personagem charmoso, anseio muito por ele no azure.
Garcia foi um boneco Interessante no fim.
Estelle e joshua estão bem feitos aqui, design do enami deixou a estelle linda e o joshua bonito pkrl e tais personagens demonstram a sua evolução desde da trilogia passada.

Gostei do desenvolvimento de todos na reta final, como infelizmente sou um incompetente n consegui nenhum final bounding event e vi no yt, me deu ânimo firme pra sequência.

As sides são bem fracas, tirando um certo punhado, mas são bem ok em geral, sky sc foi melhor.
Personagens recorrentes de jogos passado e que ainda vão ter mais destaque em cold steel (lechter eu sei que é você) me fazem apreciar mais o carinho que existe em como a falcomm interliga cada personagem em jogos sucessores sem forçar a barra e ser ou um fanservics bom ou um motivo sólido, dá uma sensação de algo muito grande está se moldando, lembrando one piece só que melhor.

Trilha sonora...
Olha eu gostei pkrl, way to life é minha intro fav de the legend of heroes destronando silver will de sc e isso não vai mudar eu acho....
Inevitable struggle é linda, formidable enemy é icônica, get over barreira roarimg version é apoteótica na reta final e a ost da dungeon final é fino señores.

Ainda assim tem poucas osts que de fato curti, sc e 3rd teve mais, espero que azure seja melhor.

Dito isso eu amei o que joguei.
Meus problemas é mais ele ser uma parte 1 de duologia de uma história e ser muito algo como utawaremono mask of deception ( jogaço, porém ele funciona demais pra engrandecer e mask of truth e apresentar o novo continente, esperava mais)
Tem outros problemas aqui a acolá que prefiro não citar aqui, mas em suma trails ja me pegou.

A solid game.
The trails game I've played so far with the least amount of "bullshit". The port felt really smooth, the dialogue was consistent and I liked all the characters. I think this was one of the lighter stories in the series in terms of the tragedies that the trail games love to play on but it's fine. Genuinely enjoyed it.

Not much to say about the OST, they keep it consistent across all the games albiet minor differences, quite enjoyed it.

Gameplay is not clunky, Fast Mode works smoothly unlike some of the other games. It's also compatible with the steamdeck, and as I would say Bed Gaming is W Gaming, because we are so back.

Falcolm can do it right, just gotta get Llyod to ask them to overcome the barriers.

Its very good.

While I've been generally positive about the previous Trails games, they were typically a mix between good and bad aspects that averaged out on the positive side. Zero manages to break from the crowd with its consistent level of quality across all the entire experience. I think this is the first Trails game I can recommend without any hesitation (though I would still advise playing the Sky games first thanks to the context they offer).

Combat and gameplay, while still largely the same as previous games, has enough improvements that it feels noticeably better. Balance to enemy health and damage numbers make the fights much more engaging and limited the number of encounters that felt tedious or boring to get through. Meanwhile changes to how orbments and arts are composed gave a much greater variety and complexity to the builds which was further emphasized by the smaller cast of main characters encouraging depth and complexity unlike the huge ensembles of prior titles.

As for the story, I'm largely positive. Crossbell feels much more cohesive, more believable, and more interesting than anything Liberl offered. And while its hard to judge much of the content here since a lot of it seems to be setup for the sequel, I think Zero did a pretty good job of giving us the backdrop for its events while still showing meaningful progress in the world rather than leaving the resolution of events entirely to the next game to wrap up.

Considering how much of this game is supposed to be setting the stage for Azure, I'm very excited to play it. And while Azure's quality doesn't directly influence whether Zero is a good game or not it does mean I'm willing to overlook some of its weaker points since many of them seem to be planting the seeds for future plot points to take advantage of.

So overall, I really liked Zero. Even after spending nearly 200 hours playing the previous three Trails games this still managed to feel fresh and engaging. Definitely worth giving it a shot.

While it felt like a shorter adventure, it actually was a very good +40hrs rpg.

It took a while to get used to the new cast, but everyone was very likeable and seeing the final resolution to Renne arc was nice to see.

The gameplay wasn't a revolution but it was still very good (if a bit simpler now), but otherwise it is still a good game and good first half to this new arc.

Zero turned out to be quite mid. SSS squad feels like budget bracers. Lloyd is a hetare Gary Stu protagonist who has the other squad members orbit around him. People will say this game had the advantage of a small group to focus on, but Sky's party members aside from the main duo had ambitions, goals and lives of their own. You can't really say that of Elie, Randy and Tio. Speaking of them, Elie really got shafted, being tacked on as a love interest as if that'd make her a more interesting character.

On the topic of characters, lots of them feel like carbon copies of beloved Trails in the Sky characters, like KeA and Renne, Tita and Tio, Cassius and Arios, Lechter/Randy and Olivier, and so on. With Arios, his backstory is even copied from Cassius's, but not as developed. He certainly does win worst dad of the year award, tho.

Certain tropes get repeated, like dramatically being saved last second when you're about to get owned (happens about 4 or 5 times during the game). At the end, the main questions aren't resolved and you're basically told "lol play the sequel."

Getting on spoiler territory, I didn't vibe at all with the last chapter throwing nothing but brainwashed, mind controlled enemies at you. It's a silly plot device that removes their agency, and is not fun to interact with. It feels low effort. The same plot device is thrown at main antagonist at the last second, as if to absolve their guilt. Where have I seen this before, hmm?

Joshua and Estelle show up again but as supporting characters. It feels pretty odd considering their power level by the end of Sky 3 would be nearly godlike. However, here they're almost like rookie bracers, fading to the backstage. Having them act as small-time helpers by the end of the game cheapens them and your efforts growing them across the first trilogy.

I have to admit, the scenes with Renne and getting to the root of her backstory was fantastic. I just wish they existed in a different scenario.


I completed this on Nightmare and did the "finish the game under level 40" challenge. It was quite fun to challenge myself and try different strats, even ones not even mentioned on top guides (for xp conservation). At the same time, it forced me to not interact with a big portion of the game by not allowing me to engage in optional battles, which is a bit lame.

I'll probably play the sequel. I'm sure there will be good payoff from having played Zero. I just won't jump into it so soon.