Some people call this a 40 hour prologue. ...They're not entirely wrong.
It's true that this game mostly sets up the events for Second Chapter (and well, the whole Trails series), but this game has a charming plot of it's own, and the world building is so good in this game. I love most of the characters too. The graphics are great, and the music is stellar, and the battle system is one of my favorites, mixing turn based and tactical RPG battle systems into one wonderful system. Since this game and Second Chapter were intended to be one game, you kinda have to commit to playing both if you really want the full experience, but for me... this game was so good on it's own that I just needed to play more. I highly recommend this whole franchise, and this game is the place to start.
It's true that this game mostly sets up the events for Second Chapter (and well, the whole Trails series), but this game has a charming plot of it's own, and the world building is so good in this game. I love most of the characters too. The graphics are great, and the music is stellar, and the battle system is one of my favorites, mixing turn based and tactical RPG battle systems into one wonderful system. Since this game and Second Chapter were intended to be one game, you kinda have to commit to playing both if you really want the full experience, but for me... this game was so good on it's own that I just needed to play more. I highly recommend this whole franchise, and this game is the place to start.