Playing Trails from Zero finally just gave me constant déjà vu. I've not played this before but to understand plot threads going into Cold Steel III I watched full playthroughs of Zero and Azure a friend recorded with English patches so I wouldn't miss references or continued plot points. Like I said, I've not played this before and yet actually playing it I felt like I had because I knew everything that was happening. Really bizarre feeling. I found this kind of amusing the whole way through.
(Intermission: For anyone unaware, Trails from Zero and it's sequel Azure are a duology of games that come after the Trails from the Sky series and before the Trails of Cold Steel series. Though interlinked as they are all set in the same world, Zero itself is fairly self contained and you could jump in here but to get the most of them start from Trails in the Sky, that and it's a fantastic game to boot.)
The story focuses on the City state of Crossbell, a small location set in-between two giant empires of Calvard and Erebonia. An economic hub with advanced technology stuck in a political knife edge constantly makes for an interesting setting. The highlight of the game is really the characters though. Trails from Zero's strength over some of the latter titles in the series is actually it's narrow focus on it's tiny party. Just four characters you are introduced to straight away and grow with as you get to know them all. No late join characters that never get any development, no huge rosters you can't build as you'd like or loose track of. Just four. Lloyd Bannings, a rookie detective returning to Crossbell after 3 years abroad, Tio Plato, a member of the technology corporation the Epstein Foundation, Randy Orlando a former Crossbell Guardian Force member and Ellie McDowell who has joined the police despite never completing the police academy exam. Each of them has their own reasons and pasts leading them to where they are which you learn about at the same time as the party learns about how complicated Crossbell is and their place as a generally undesired new unit in the Crossbell Police the Special Support Section.
When not exploring the city and it's many interesting npcs or story threads you will be engaging in combat with monsters, mobsters, robots and various other aggressive locals. Combat is turn based in a more traditional Japanese role playing game style. During their turn each character can use skills, arts, move or attack. Depending on how you build your party will depend greatly on how each battle plays out. Each character can equip gems called Quartz of various colours each worth a set amount of points in those colours which will unlock certain spells. Have 12 in blue and you'll have all healing and some seriously strong water attacks for example. Each Quartz has a specific passive ability on top boosting stats of effects meaning you need to balance everything right to be the most effective you can be.
The elephant in the room with this release kind of needs to be discussed here though. This game is originally a PSP title from back in 2010. If you're super into fancy visuals just walk away now. Personally I think the game looks amazing but I love the whole art style they have for the character models and how colourful the game is. That said the version you get matters as the PS4 version I played is the basic Kai port Falcom originally made. The Switch and PC releases are different with sharper details and better textures. With a game of this age it didn't matter to me at all but it may make a difference to your purchase. Each version has the quality of life upgrades such as fast forward to speed up animations and running though.
Overall I knew I'd like this though no matter what, I haven't played a Falcom game I didn't enjoy even if elements of their Trails formula and trophy collections are fairly standard at this point. Speaking of which, there is a decent amount of game here. It took me just about 100 hours in two playthroughs with a bit of planning and speed running on the second run to get and see everything, enjoyed every moment.
Role on Azure and Reverie next year.
(Intermission: For anyone unaware, Trails from Zero and it's sequel Azure are a duology of games that come after the Trails from the Sky series and before the Trails of Cold Steel series. Though interlinked as they are all set in the same world, Zero itself is fairly self contained and you could jump in here but to get the most of them start from Trails in the Sky, that and it's a fantastic game to boot.)
The story focuses on the City state of Crossbell, a small location set in-between two giant empires of Calvard and Erebonia. An economic hub with advanced technology stuck in a political knife edge constantly makes for an interesting setting. The highlight of the game is really the characters though. Trails from Zero's strength over some of the latter titles in the series is actually it's narrow focus on it's tiny party. Just four characters you are introduced to straight away and grow with as you get to know them all. No late join characters that never get any development, no huge rosters you can't build as you'd like or loose track of. Just four. Lloyd Bannings, a rookie detective returning to Crossbell after 3 years abroad, Tio Plato, a member of the technology corporation the Epstein Foundation, Randy Orlando a former Crossbell Guardian Force member and Ellie McDowell who has joined the police despite never completing the police academy exam. Each of them has their own reasons and pasts leading them to where they are which you learn about at the same time as the party learns about how complicated Crossbell is and their place as a generally undesired new unit in the Crossbell Police the Special Support Section.
When not exploring the city and it's many interesting npcs or story threads you will be engaging in combat with monsters, mobsters, robots and various other aggressive locals. Combat is turn based in a more traditional Japanese role playing game style. During their turn each character can use skills, arts, move or attack. Depending on how you build your party will depend greatly on how each battle plays out. Each character can equip gems called Quartz of various colours each worth a set amount of points in those colours which will unlock certain spells. Have 12 in blue and you'll have all healing and some seriously strong water attacks for example. Each Quartz has a specific passive ability on top boosting stats of effects meaning you need to balance everything right to be the most effective you can be.
The elephant in the room with this release kind of needs to be discussed here though. This game is originally a PSP title from back in 2010. If you're super into fancy visuals just walk away now. Personally I think the game looks amazing but I love the whole art style they have for the character models and how colourful the game is. That said the version you get matters as the PS4 version I played is the basic Kai port Falcom originally made. The Switch and PC releases are different with sharper details and better textures. With a game of this age it didn't matter to me at all but it may make a difference to your purchase. Each version has the quality of life upgrades such as fast forward to speed up animations and running though.
Overall I knew I'd like this though no matter what, I haven't played a Falcom game I didn't enjoy even if elements of their Trails formula and trophy collections are fairly standard at this point. Speaking of which, there is a decent amount of game here. It took me just about 100 hours in two playthroughs with a bit of planning and speed running on the second run to get and see everything, enjoyed every moment.
Role on Azure and Reverie next year.