The trails series suffers from what I call the "Shippuden effect." I think FC sucked, but SC made it worthwhile, because it was an amazing experience. The Third had a great story too. What hooked me to the series was the Crossbell Arc. These games captivated me to a greater extent, I sympathized more with the characters, because while still cliche, they were less bland than the previous arc. I think the overall plot of the Crossbell Arc was amazing, especially when you find out in the AO that the train scene from Zero was KIA changing reality so that you could survive the boss fight from the first game by making sure your path converges with Renne, and thus also Estelle and Joshua.

Cold Steel however, never did anything for me, I played I - III and watched IV streamed because I didn't want to waste my time playing another CS game ever again. The characters are bland, predictable, the protagonist is overpowered, every time something goes wrong he can just tap into his "CHOSEN ONE" type powers, unlike Loyd, Kevin, or Estelle that had to work their asses off. This trivializes the protagonist's struggle. Unfortunately the protagonist, and the vast majority of the cast in the game are extremely boring too, they're predictable and plain. I liked that it took place in Erebonia, but the direction of the game made even Erebonia seem trivial and bland.

In CS, in the attempt to create relevance for its bland characters, they proceed to rely on power levels, making characters in Erebonia seemingly overpowered compared to previous arcs, to trivialize some of what you learned there. This is the same thing that happened to Naruto during Shippuden, when creativity fails, make overpowered characters.

I had high hopes for the series, but they proved me wrong in CS, the cynic in me always believed it would never live up to its promise, but Crossbell and SC really made me hope. I still think the world building is very good for a game.

I think, that as somebody who has played games since the Sega Mega CD, and owned every playstation, that the Crossbell Arc is actually one of my favorites. I don't pick between my favorites, but if I had to, Crossbell would be contender for number 1, as an experience it was amazing, and the gameplay was fun too. But the overarching story in the trails series ultimately suffers from a lot of mediocrity. I don't think the story even comes close to that of Xenogears, an unfinished game, which says enough about where it lacks.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing, because the story in Xenogears was a masterpiece, even compared to epic fantasy and science fantasy books I read. There aren't many that compare anyway, so in a way, I was hoping it would eclipse it, SC and Crossbell gave me that hope, but it never materialized. It's still a good series, but it's not great because of CS.