The moment has come when a long story ends. Over the course of two games, we followed a group of people who, by the will of fate, found themselves drawn into crazy events that engulfed the whole country. And it seemed that everything was over, and it ended well. But our dear developers Nihon Falcom decided to give us one more chapter of this story, and let us stay with these characters a little longer. And this chapter turned out to be quite controversial, but nevertheless not nearly as bad as some claim. But we won’t reveal everything at once.
I welcome everyone again and would like to tell you about the last chapter of the history of Liberl and its Legend of Heroes. Welcome to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky 3rd.
ATTENTION. WARNING. ACHTUNG. 警告. As with the previous game, the 3rd part is a direct continuation. If you haven’t played or haven’t completed the first two games yet, skip the next paragraph.To. it contains extremely serious spoilers. Otherwise, read at your own risk
Welcome to… Fantasma
The events of the third game again take us to Liberl, six months after the events with Liber-Ark. After a short prologue, we are introduced to the new-old main character. Kevin Graham, minister of the Septian Church and member of the Gralsritter organization. After the next task, the commander of the organization contacts Kevin and gives him a new task. An artifact left by the ancient Zemurians was discovered at the Liber-Ark crash site. You need to go to Liberl and pick up this artifact. In addition to this, Kevin is sent a squire to help. Arriving in the capital of Liberla, Kevin immediately goes to the place where the artifact is kept, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Sid and Erica Russell, who actually found the artifact and is very unhappy with the fact that the Church is taking a valuable sample for research.
As mentioned, this organization is one of the branches of the Sepriate Church. The main task of this organization: searching for artifacts and eliminating heretics.
Since the artifacts are inventions of the ancient Zemurians, their properties and purposes often remain a mystery, not to mention the fact that at the current level of development, it is extremely difficult to analyze these artifacts. In addition to this, these artifacts have not only mechanical, but also magical properties, which also complicates their analysis.
However, if an artifact shows no signs of activity, magical or otherwise, its ownership can be disputed. In this way, the Church can be persuaded to leave some “dead” artifacts at the disposal of the state.
The second task of the organization is somewhat simpler in terms of explanation. Heretics are people who have turned their backs on the Church and use its knowledge for not the best intentions. The Church considers such people beyond forgiveness and sends agents to eliminate them. A striking example of a heretic is the main antagonist of Trails In The Sky SC.
The organization itself consists of 12 dominions, special knights possessing the so-called Stigma, a supernatural power that increases the physical and magical parameters of a person, knights and squires.
During a small discussion about who should actually get the artifact, a new character appears. Ries Argent, squire of the Gralsritter organization, who was appointed as Kevin’s assistant. Suddenly, the artifact begins to show activity, as a result of which the artifact officially passes into the hands of the Church. After all these events, they notice that someone is following them. Having driven the “spy” into a corner, who turned out to be the fool Gilbert, the artifact makes itself felt again, after which the characters are illuminated by a bright flash and they come to their senses in some strange place.
But all you had to do was pick up the artifact from the storage facility. But where would we be without adventure?
As our heroes later find out, they ended up in a place called Phantasma, a rather strange place that seems to exist between worlds. Those who remember Tetracyclic Towers from the second game will perfectly understand what we’re talking about. Having explored the first territories a little, our heroes find an unusual stone. Taking it to the place where the heroes woke up, the stone flashes with light from which appears… Tita. As she explained, she was sitting at home, but suddenly she was surrounded by a bright light and she woke up in this strange place with Kevin and Rees. And from this point on, let’s perhaps dwell on the plot, t.To. further there will be a lot of important events, which will be extremely difficult to fit into one paragraph.
Let us just note one point. The further our heroes go, the more old friends they meet. Cloe, Sherezard and even everyone’s favorite Oliver. So the whole old batch is assembled. There were some newcomers, but in general these are characters who were in one way or another in previous games: captain of the royal guard Julia Schwartz, Oliver’s guard Muller Vander and even former colonel of the intelligence department Alan Richard.
It is worth noting that the game has changed a little in terms of plot presentation. What we have before us is not so much a full-fledged continuation as an expansion of existing stories and biographies, and preparing the ground for the next parts. The main story tells about Kevin and Rees, who, as it turns out, are far from strangers to each other. And as it turns out, Kevin was not always such a cheerful and cheerful priest. However, at local levels there are 3 types of doors: lunar, star and solar, with a corresponding sign on the door. These doors are a kind of replacement for third-party tasks and at the same time expand the existing plot. They tell what happened to the heroes after the second game, provide explanations for some things, and also expand the biography of some characters. For example, they will let us see how Cloe first got to Janice Academy and how she settled in there. Or quite funny scenes of how Agate met Tita’s parents… and almost died.
You can’t just open the doors. Each door requires a character or a certain condition to be met. In this case we need Tita.
And it was this change that significantly influenced the perception, by some players, of the entire game. Many people didn’t like that the whole game turned into one big dungeon crawl. There are no additional quests, purchases from merchants have been replaced by a kind of automatic machine for dispensing equipment and products, most of the time we do not play, but read a wall of text, and some locations are again reused, only the population has changed. On the one hand, all these claims can be understood, because.To. there was no significant breakthrough, as was the case with the first and second games. And yet, the story itself doesn’t get any worse. It’s just that the emphasis has shifted slightly in the other direction. And as the same reaction of players shows, some people even like this approach better.
Oliver… Oliver never changes. https://all-slots-casino.uk/games/
But if with the plot everything is more good than bad, then with the gameplay everything is not so rosy. Especially for those who prioritize gameplay. But first things first.
Draw your swords!
Let’s probably start with the combat system. She hasn’t changed at all. We still run into the enemy, move to a separate arena with the ability to move around it, we still attack with crafts, arts and simple attacks. Opponents have added, in addition to the main four elements, three higher elements to the vulnerability table. In general, the combat system was finalized, what was missing was added to the interface, new random effects were added, but that’s all. Otherwise, the combat system is no different from Second Chapter. And this is a double-edged sword. If you are very demanding about the combat system, then you will most likely be disappointed. Second Chapter offered small innovations, the same chain attacks, which could quite seriously affect the tactics of battles, especially with bosses. Trails in The Sky 3rd, apart from the improved interface, does not offer anything new. If you are not demanding of the combat system, then in general it will not oppress you so much. The main thing is not to forget to upgrade all the heroes closer to the last chapters.
New S-Craft could not be avoided either, but nevertheless, this is not enough to diversify the combat system.
Of course, the game has more than just combat. Unfortunately, the additional tasks, as was said, went under the knife, but here those very doors come to the rescue. More specifically, doors with the sign of the sun. Like the other doors, they only open under certain conditions, however, unlike the other doors, they not only provide a bit of extra story, but also offer some mini-games. One door allows you to participate in tournaments in the arena, another allows you to shoot with a machine gun, and another gives you the right to participate in a quiz, which, by the way, will show how much detail you know the universe and history. There are not very many such doors in the game, but if you get tired of simple battles and want some kind of challenge or variety, then it is better not to miss these doors.
What are we looking at??
As for the graphic and sound design, in general you can’t expect any revelations. The graphics engine has not changed, so don’t expect any revelations, but from a design point of view there are some interesting places. For the most part, unfortunately, we either walk through old locations, only with a different population, or through abstract labyrinths, in which, alas, there is nothing special to look at except for deep space. However, there are several pleasant and unusual locations.
There’s no other way to describe it than “went straight to hell”.
But in terms of musical accompaniment, Falcom Sound Team jdk never fails. Of course, this is still not a classic, like Akira Yamaoka or Keiichi Okabe, but it puts me in a great mood and some tracks make me want to listen to them again.
End of story
Trails In The Sky 3rd turned out to be very controversial. A minimum of innovations in gameplay, yet another reuse of old locations and general technical obsolescence are already seriously making themselves felt. Some elements, if not annoying, can definitely become boring.
However! None of this means it’s a bad game. Despite the fact that the plot is more focused on the two main characters, and not on the global threat, it does not let go for a second. Not to mention the fact that the game manages to switch from a fun and cheerful adventure to a rather dark and bloody story.
For those familiar with the series, this part will also be an important purchase. Yet this is the last time that the heroes of Liberl’s story will gather again. And if you are particularly attached to the heroes, then farewell will be just as difficult for you, but not without a pleasant aftertaste, as for the heroes of this story themselves.
For those who are hearing about the series for the first time, I highly recommend checking out the first part.
This is where Liberl’s story ends. However, where one story ends, another begins. So instead of putting down your controllers, save up for tickets. After all, next time we will go to the Empire of Erebonia.
Best comments
Just mentioning Crossbell and adding regrets about it would be enough.
Well, in our country now, in principle, for the first time people have begun to take JRPGs seriously since the days of the PS2 – it’s just trivial because they began to be released on Steam. And so far, sales there are quite pleasing to the Japanese, and Xseed is very serious about publishing a duology, so someday one day we will still see it.
I’m more surprised that for some reason people started to hype JRPGs – in particular, the recent Persona.
Hmm… The review is clearly for the third part, but the title of the article contains the name of the first, and the emblem of the first is drawn. Disorder.
Too much has been said about the plot. Those who are not in the know will immediately grab a bunch of spoilers, the main of which are the official statuses of Kevin and Olivert. Those who have already completed two games… will still grab spoilers.
Priest Kevin Graham, familiar from the second part, becomes the protagonist of the third part. The story begins with the church tasking him with retrieving an artifact from a vault in Liberl. But everything, as usual, does not go according to plan, and the power of the artifact drags the heroes into the space between worlds, similar to what we already saw in the second part. This is where our new story begins.
Everything, more than this cannot be said, because any new word turns into a spoiler. For one simple reason – there are exactly two new active characters in the game – sister Reese and the antagonist. Three characters we’ve already heard about but haven’t seen – Tita’s parents and the Chancellor of Erebonia. And one new character who is not involved in the main plot of the third part, but is important for the plot of Cold Steel – Lector. That’s it, everything else is built on the basis of the first two games.
The very fact that Kevin enters the grailsritter is a spoiler. Since this is revealed exclusively in the final scene of the second part, and even then, not fully. The organization is secret, the same as Ouroboros.
Well then, there’s nothing to complain about. Quite a functional review. I would like more analytics – why this is an important series, and why every fan of role-playing games should touch it. Still, this is one of the most monumental plot paintings that exist today. But that’s okay too.
P.S. Next time we should go to Crossbell, not Erebonia. But the translator cannot agree on the release of the duology in the West due to a lack of his own resources, and the reluctance of the developers to bother with ports. Cold Steel is the third piece, starting a few months after the events in Crossbell.
It always seemed to me that you could insert your own drawings and names, but oh well. It feels like the site has a lack of understanding of Japanese phenomena in principle. Just look at how carefully they approached the review of Zelda.
And deliberately skipping such important pieces of information as the Crossbell duology means admitting your reader is an idiot in advance. Don’t do this, anyone in the know will think they did the job poorly. Those who are not in the subject, but will find out later… Well, you missed your chance to enlighten the reader.
As for the comments, there is no point in downvoting them. For a good author, the main thing is always to know that he is read, watched and understood. I’ve always been annoyed by flirty comments like "cool" and "well done". I worked for a week to make it cool – why should I tell you what I already know and it can’t be otherwise?. Just like those who just come and point out a minus – well, tell me what’s wrong, I’ll do better next time. So glad to see someone shares this position.
So that in a world where blacks and Asians are hated simply because, anime haters will disappear… Well, hope lives on.
Regarding the emblem and name, the questions are not for me, but for the SG database, which of the entire series only contains Trails in The Sky 1 and, suddenly, Trails of Cold Steel 2 (. ).
Regarding the plot, of course, I went too far, I agree, but again, there is a warning before the first paragraph. Kevin admitted that he was from Gralsritter during the second game, and not at the very end. In the end we just learned that he occupies some important position, but nothing more.
I didn’t talk too much about the characters this time, especially Lecter.
Regarding Crossbel and Erebonia. I specifically said about Erebonia, because you can only join Cold Steel en masse. If in Cold Steel there is at least English, and then you see that folk craftsmen will soon rip together Russifiers for the especially lazy, then with Zero and Ao no Kiseki everything is far from so simple. I personally don’t know Japanese, unfortunately, and talking about a game that is only available in Japanese and which only a couple of people can join is a bit strange. Therefore, we will have to bypass Crossbell for now, but I hope that if the sales of the latest parts of the publishers are pleasing, then we will survive. After Cold Steel 2, I really don’t know what the hell happened there.
And yes, there seems to be no need to port anything, Zero and Ao were also released on PC, there it’s only a matter of translation, which, nevertheless, is also not a matter of a month’s work.
P.S. Thank you so much for your comment. These are the kind of comments I always wait for. Even if you downvoted, I am grateful for healthy and adequate criticism.
Well, Persona 5 was basically advertised enough to attract at least some attention. Plus, I think the re-release of Golden for PS Vita also played a role. Even those who have not played previous games, if they caught Persona 4 Golden, were definitely interested in the continuation. And again, the sad Final Fantasy XV also contributed. So if the genre takes off, then why not?? 🙂
The main thing is that individuals disappear with the thought “anime style, which means the game is a priori shit and doesn’t care about the advantages”.
I in no way consider readers idiots, of course, but as I said, talking about something that in the end you yourself won’t understand is somewhat stupid. Perhaps I should have just mentioned that it’s about Crossbell, but okay, I’ll get out of it. Plus, it seems to me that it will be more relevant to talk about Cold Steel, because the first 2 parts are already available on PS3 and PS Vita, and in the summer there will also be a PC version. And remembering that on this site they have just begun to take JRPGs seriously, not to mention the fact that they are only suitable for high-profile and large series, I think it will be a little easier to talk about Cold Steel. And Crossbell is not yet a fact that we will wait 🙁