An extremely slow starting point for the Trails series. Fortunately, it does eventually get more interesting... it just takes the entire damn game to get to that point. It feels like Trails in the Sky Second Chapter is the JRPG I thought this game was going to be while Trails in the Sky First Chapter is a pretty uneventful but necessary prequel. The first game is mostly familiarizing yourself with the setting of Trails and giving a shallow introduction to characters who turn out to be a lot more fleshed out in future games. The second game is where the actual adventure takes place - or at least the adventure that's most relevant to Estelle and Joshua as characters.
Did they really need two games to tell the initial story of Estelle and Joshua? I suppose they probably did. I can't really think of a graceful way to fit the events of Trails 1 and Trails 2 in one game. But I do think the story of Trails 1 is just a bit on the boring side for most of the campaign. Maybe it had to be that way. After all, you can't continuously elevate the stakes of a story if you start at maximum intensity.
I don't think the combat system in Trails 1 plays to its strengths well due to only making interesting use of the grid system near the end of the game, but future games make up for this. My major complaint with the combat system is the same as with all of the games in the Sky trilogy: it's too damn slow.
I think this game desperately needs a remake. Not because I think remaking the game would elevate it to masterpiece status - far from it. But if Falcom is telling new players to start with this game then they need it to make as good of a first impression as possible. And let me tell you, it definitely does NOT make a good first impression. Increasing the production values and adding voice acting for every line could go a long way toward making the game more approachable. They would definitely need to increase the speed of the combat as well. And personally I think some skillful remixes could make the soundtrack feel a lot less generic.
This definitely isn't the masterpiece JRPG that some claim it is, but it's the starting point for a long line of JRPGs that are much more impressive. Trails in the Sky was a game that I forced myself to play through while not massively enjoying it, but I'd say it was definitely worth it because I got to a point with future games where I was playing for the sheer enjoyment rather than forcing myself to play it so I could see why other people liked the games.
Did they really need two games to tell the initial story of Estelle and Joshua? I suppose they probably did. I can't really think of a graceful way to fit the events of Trails 1 and Trails 2 in one game. But I do think the story of Trails 1 is just a bit on the boring side for most of the campaign. Maybe it had to be that way. After all, you can't continuously elevate the stakes of a story if you start at maximum intensity.
I don't think the combat system in Trails 1 plays to its strengths well due to only making interesting use of the grid system near the end of the game, but future games make up for this. My major complaint with the combat system is the same as with all of the games in the Sky trilogy: it's too damn slow.
I think this game desperately needs a remake. Not because I think remaking the game would elevate it to masterpiece status - far from it. But if Falcom is telling new players to start with this game then they need it to make as good of a first impression as possible. And let me tell you, it definitely does NOT make a good first impression. Increasing the production values and adding voice acting for every line could go a long way toward making the game more approachable. They would definitely need to increase the speed of the combat as well. And personally I think some skillful remixes could make the soundtrack feel a lot less generic.
This definitely isn't the masterpiece JRPG that some claim it is, but it's the starting point for a long line of JRPGs that are much more impressive. Trails in the Sky was a game that I forced myself to play through while not massively enjoying it, but I'd say it was definitely worth it because I got to a point with future games where I was playing for the sheer enjoyment rather than forcing myself to play it so I could see why other people liked the games.