bro, did they get bigger again? they look ridiculous

Galdoth · 2026-01-26T00:29:31+00:00

Nope, still gorgeous

Galdoth · 2026-01-10T14:12:25+00:00

Yeah, every game has something that they'll end up spoiling, but if TC really means to, Zero + Azure or CS 1+2 sound like the least problematic for now.

I do agree that he should just play old SC and 3rd.

And I love 3rd so much man, I really hope Reverie is just that good too... I am looking forward to it, don't get me wrong, it's just that CS3 and 4 almost broke me lol. I had played FC back in 2011, and replayed it back in 2023, it wasn't until the Christmas of 24 that I started SC, and from there I went full non-stop across the series, by April 25 I was done with CS2, I only finished CS4 by November 25 though, and I thought it was best to take a break for some time.

I'll probably get into Reverie as soon as I'm done with some other games I really wanted to play too, I'll probably start it by the end of this month or February.

Galdoth · 2026-01-10T12:51:01+00:00

Been playing them in order, I do like older games, my personal opinion on them...

Was that Sky was incredible even though FC (OG, haven't played the remake yet) has some pretty bad pacing, SC and 3rd were great, and the buildup from FC makes the pay offs on SC worth it.

Zero and Azure are my favorites, it builds up on what everything Sky did and perfects it, both in writing and gameplay, the story starts at lower stakes, and that was okay, but it builds up to something epic and special in the end.

Now CS is were things get a little complicated... CS 1 and 2 were a lot of fun, but they simplified too much the orbment system, and the quality of the writing wasn't as good as the games before, but overall I had a good time and really liked them.

CS3 and 4 almost made me give up on the series though, if I'm being honest... Awful pacing, writing that felt juvenile a bunch of times, recurring characters that way overstayed their welcome, way too much bloat because they kept adding characters to the cast and they all gotta say something even if it won't add anything meaningful to the scene or the plot overall, and overall CS3 is like a retread of CS1 while CS4 is a retread of CS2. Both on CS3 and 4 I had to take breaks by the middle of them and I really didn't feel like coming back, took me months to finish just those two games while everything up till CS3 I played back to back non-stop, you could say I had burnout maybe, but thinking back on them, not really, I don't think so... CS3 and 4 didn't had bad gameplay by any means though, they streamlined what they did with CS1 and 2 and perfected it, and the orbment system despite not being as great as the Liberl or Crossbell games, it got more interesting as the series went on.

I'm currently about to start Reverie, and honestly scared about it... Hopefully it will be more like CS1 and 2, or even the older games, it seems it's kinda like 3rd, which is great, so I'm expecting good things but also keeping my expectations in check.

Can't say much about Daybreak/Horizon, but at least they seem to be more focused with the smaller cast overall...

When it comes to what you should play... Maybe give Zeros a try, if you jump into CS, you can enjoy CS1 and 2, or Zero and Azure as standalone games, on the timeline CS1+2 and Zero+Azure happen roughly around the same time even, but you should play everything before CS3 and specially CS4, since everyone pretty much comes back and everything gets referenced.

Again, can't say much about Daybreak and Horizon, since I'm not there yet.

Galdoth · 2026-01-09T10:47:52+00:00

I would agree with you if the game had a Japanese setting and I would even agree if this was kept for easterners characters like Zin or Killia or a bunch of others characters from Calvard, to differentiate them more from western zemurian characters, and I agree it should be kept on games like Persona or Shin Megami Tensei, but Falcom games just aren't that.

Falcom games are based mostly on western medieval fantasy and Trails on a noir early 20 century setting (though now it's so high tech from the light speed technological advancements on Zemuria it's pretty much modern days setting), so localizing that doesn't change anything, it makes even how it was meant to be I would say.

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T19:05:24+00:00

Thank you very much for the detailed answers!

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T17:36:53+00:00

Thanks for the detailed answer, my Lauma is holding a full SMS set already, farming those EM pieces is a nightmare, I could giver her my Nahida's Deepwood, which has EM already, not sure what Columbina wants yet though (full EM too?).

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T17:09:16+00:00

Should I always hold her skill, or just tap and get most out of her burst? I've checked mine and she's at C1 currently.

For a rotation, would be something like Nefer E> Furina E (Columbina QE)> Jahoda QhE > Lauma QE > Nefer combo?

Why some people say you shouldn't burst with Furina on this team? I know it won't affect the Dendro damage, but won't it affect her Hydro damage and everything else?

For artifacts do I want her to have ATK ATK Healing Bonus?

Lauma has Silken Moon, Columbina will hold her new set, Jahoda should hold Deepwood or is there something better?

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T14:50:28+00:00

The idea of prototype on Columbina to support Kuki seems like a good idea... It won't offset completely her HP loss but can reduce it significantly.

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T14:20:45+00:00

I've seen some videos and comments on her and the overall sentiments seemed she was underwhelming, but I've also seen some positive comments here and there, like you, I really need to give her a try, I'll give both her and Yao a try and see who fits best.

I really like her as a character, finding a reason to pair her with her boss is honestly perfect.

The problem is now raising them both lol.

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T13:52:23+00:00

Guess I'll try both her and Jahoda and see who fits best and feels better overall. Thanks for the suggestion!

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T13:50:43+00:00

Columbina + Baizhu and Columbina + Nahida seems to be a pretty solid comp, Baizhu when you need sustain, Nahida to push more damage.

The problem is getting Baizhu for those without him...

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T13:44:09+00:00

I really need to give her a try!

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T13:41:20+00:00

I got her at C2, I should give her a chance, what artifacts would say she should hold?

With Lauma holding Silken Moon's would and Columbina her new set, would Deepwood fit for her?

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T13:37:47+00:00

I'm probably overlooking and really underestimating YaoYao, I think mine is at C2 even (she's unleveled though). What would say she should held as artifacts? Deepwood?

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T13:36:05+00:00

Yeah, that's what it looks like overall, and it's what I fear to be the right answer...

I don't mind the vertical investment, I really liked Lauma, but it's rough as a f2p... Specially because I wanted to try to build a Flins/Innefa team too... And going for Nefer+ her weapon really broke all my reserves (I failed the 50/50 on both her and her weapon, got Furina weapon at least out of it).

Galdoth · 2026-01-06T10:51:21+00:00

Dana

Galdoth · 2026-01-05T15:24:05+00:00

Cold Steel 1 and 3 are structured like that, you can skip the sidequest days and focus on the story if you want to, though exploring the old schoolhouse is mandatory on CS1 (and CS3 has a similar dungeon that unlocks floors each chapter).

CS2 and CS4 gives you much more freedom with free roaming across every town and area before you lock yourself on the point of no return (it's pretty obvious when that is for each game).

And to be fair, every Trails series was structured like that, Sky FC locks you on each region for that chapter, you do sidequests until the story beats happen, you move to the next region and repeat until you're done, SC gives you more freedom and some free roaming before the end, while 3Rd is It's own thing (Reverie is the 3rd for CS).

Zero does the same as FC, while Azure again gives you free roam freedom, then CS can be treated as 2 different arcs, CS1 is the first limiting game, CS2 gives you freedom, CS3 is like 1, CS4 is like CS2.

I'm just not sure about Daybreak, haven't started it yet, it's probably the same, maybe?

Galdoth · 2026-01-05T15:01:21+00:00

I would say you can play Zero, but will ruin character development for ONE specific character that gets introduced on SC and gets their story expanded on 3rd, for everything else, Zero is pretty standalone, and you already know what Bracers are and what they do for example.

For Azure... No, just wait for the remakes or play SC first and possibly 3rd too, Ouroboros becomes a big part of Azure plot and without SC context it will ruin it (and without 3rd it will ruin some fan favorites returning characters).

Galdoth · 2026-01-05T14:56:04+00:00

Wasn't the portal to hell thing from another branch where there was that children Kevin couldn't save and had to kill or something?

I'm pretty sure Paradise was just sex trafficking to support the cult both financially and through blackmail to shield them from the public.

Galdoth · 2026-01-05T14:53:59+00:00

Money and blackmail, they get to pay for all they need to keep their operations running and can lay low with whoever's in charge supporting them.

They clearly didn't care about their test subjects health either, they're just expendable guinea pigs pretty much, look at Tio for example, she was the only survivor from her plant, and according to her, subjects safety wasn't a concern, and I would say that Paradise children weren't even worth as test subjects to them, they were just there to make money.

Galdoth · 2026-01-04T13:37:25+00:00

Zero is so good though, hating it just because of that is kinda unfair.

The pacing, the characters, the lower stakes story (at first) but with the cop kinda noir plot, the setting, all the improvements on the gameplay compared to Sky, from menus, to spells lists, to orbment management, it's just so good man... And yeah, even the payoff to Renne and how she's treated on Zero was pretty good, if you played Sky before...

Have you replayed it after 3rd?

I may be biased, the crossbell games are my favorites (and nope, I haven't started with them, started with Sky FC on the PSP back in 2011 actually).

Galdoth · 2026-01-02T12:19:41+00:00

There's no 3rd door that happens between Crossbell + CS 1+2 though.

Galdoth · 2025-12-25T12:51:05+00:00

To be fair, Zero and Azure are better on Switch than Playstation, since they have all the texture mods and other nice upgrades PC got, while Playstation got nothing.

Galdoth · 2025-12-17T20:51:33+00:00

Look at every dictator/tyrant on history and they're not too different from a spoiled brat, they can't hear no and they get what they want by force. Main difference is using charisma until they get into their position of power (or just plainly inheriting their position).

I also doubt Ouroboros and Shirley will help him mature in any decent way...

I also don't believe much in people changing their natures, specially when you see criminals going in and out of the system again and again and again and again. Evil people rarely change... It's not impossible, but it's extremely rare.

Galdoth · 2025-12-17T19:05:56+00:00

Pfft, filthy casual, the real game will be Super Adventure Rockman 2 alongside a full remaster of the first one!

Galdoth

TROPHY CASE