This review contains spoilers
Trails into Reverie is a wonderful send off to the first half of the Trails saga.
This game's narrative is so well thought out and the way it uses context from previous entries while not overdoing it on narrative fanservice was incredible. I was genuinely surprised the writers were able to hold back on several things that might have bogged down the game and made it feel like a simple "fanservice fest." Thankfully they avoided that and managed to smartly retcon a couple decisions from previous entries to enhance the experience.
The gameplay is the same as every other previous entry, the additions only serve to further break the combat system, even further than it was already broken. If you like turn based combat you'll enjoy this game.
Spoilers
The Chapter 2 fight where the player swaps between parties in the middle of a fight was incredible, I hope the franchise continues to experiment with that stuff in the future. Multi-party management was already a thing in previous entries but swapping side mid-battle was a true novelty, something I've never seen a game do before. Unironically so cool.
The use of the good ending of Cold Steel 4 to complete Rean's character arc was one of the smartest things in the franchise. Not since Loewe was I more captivated by an Antagonist's presence, and that is saying something.
Of course the star of this game's show is the equivalent of Sky 3rd's Star Doors. Such a great set of short stories that let us get to know our favorite characters even more.
Recommended to anyone who likes Trails, but obviously you should play the previous games first.
This game's narrative is so well thought out and the way it uses context from previous entries while not overdoing it on narrative fanservice was incredible. I was genuinely surprised the writers were able to hold back on several things that might have bogged down the game and made it feel like a simple "fanservice fest." Thankfully they avoided that and managed to smartly retcon a couple decisions from previous entries to enhance the experience.
The gameplay is the same as every other previous entry, the additions only serve to further break the combat system, even further than it was already broken. If you like turn based combat you'll enjoy this game.
Spoilers
The Chapter 2 fight where the player swaps between parties in the middle of a fight was incredible, I hope the franchise continues to experiment with that stuff in the future. Multi-party management was already a thing in previous entries but swapping side mid-battle was a true novelty, something I've never seen a game do before. Unironically so cool.
The use of the good ending of Cold Steel 4 to complete Rean's character arc was one of the smartest things in the franchise. Not since Loewe was I more captivated by an Antagonist's presence, and that is saying something.
Of course the star of this game's show is the equivalent of Sky 3rd's Star Doors. Such a great set of short stories that let us get to know our favorite characters even more.
Recommended to anyone who likes Trails, but obviously you should play the previous games first.