The Legend of Heroes Thread - Trails of Cold Steel in the Sky

[flyingjohn]

I was kind of expecting a Nihon Falcom game to have good difficulty modes when starting this thing, as I've only played the Ys games from them and in those they are usually excellent. I read the OP(and a few posts after it) and apparently in the PSP original they weren't even selectable at the start, without completing the game once, so it kind of makes sense they're not very interesting.

The legend series is completely different to ys.
People mostly play them for the world building and not hardcore gameplay or difficulty.
And when i mean worldbuilding i mean that literally every npc has his little side story you follow through the entire game(every time you do any quest dialogue changes for npcs).
Combat has 2 major problems:
Aoe dominates and you can't attack after you moved making the tactical combat field kind of useless.
But it is still a solid jrpg series and i recommend you get the second chapter if you enjoy the first one since the first ends on a cliffhanger and the story continues in sc.
And for anybody else reading this don't select nightmare for sc,it is the definition of hp sponge enemies.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I've completed the first two quests in First Chapter. Just got back from the tower.

The game is excellent at conveying a sense of atmosphere and wonder. The presentation is spot on - the level of detail and the art direction are refined. The music complements the game well too.

I really like this so far. I hear it is long and there's a lot of dialogue so I see this as a big commitment. I might try and complete the other games on my current playlist first - Valkyria Chronicles, Metal Gear Solid V, Life is Strange (which is quite dull so far).

 

[vonAchdorf]

Nice feature at Kotaku about just how challenging localizing SC turned out to be: http://kotaku.com/the-curse-of-kiseki-how-one-of-japans-biggest-rpgs-bar-1740055631

(Alternative link for antikotakus: https://archive.is/g2wWN)

Makes me want to buy the SC for full-price, even though I still haven't finished the first.

 

[Crooked Bee]

You should.

It's good to see Schera hasn't changed

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Combat just got a little more tough. Got my arse kicked by a big group of bunnies on the way to the farm. I opened a chest and they swarmed me, overwhelmed me with numbers and it doesn't seem like I have an area attack yet.

I retried and fled, went a bit further and got surprise attacked by two beetles... fled again.

I might go back to town and spend some of my money on better gear... and I might actually see if I can buy more gems with the drops I got from previous battles.

 

[vonAchdorf]

I think AoE for Estelle comes at lvl 8, but with lvl 8 the bunnies are no problem anymore.

Schera is a character, you wouldn't necessarily find in a Western game. A whip cracking sadist with a drinking problem who hits on underage boys?

 

[Crooked Bee]

I only just started playing SC, but I feel like, even on Normal, enemies are considerably more dangerous now. I'd probably get my ass kicked on Hard.

 

[Shadenuat]

I got my ass kicked on hard by first boss, switched to normal, all went well before I've met 3d or 4th boss (last level of prologue, another mercenary with spear).

...WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH BEE'S AVATAR

 

[Crooked Bee]

Nothing's wrong; nothing at all. Simply my most fabulous avatar yet. I wish I had found a monocle to go with it, too, but alas.

In other news, Estelle just died on me two times in a row to random mobs just outside Ruan. Oh my. As per this thread's OP, I found FC to be very easy, so either I've gotten rusty or the difficulty has indeed gone up a notch.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I love this game (FC).



I wish it had been in my life sooner.

 

[Shadenuat]

I don't understand enemy resistances when it comes to physical damage. Like, Anelace's regular Craft with ~20 cp does more damage than higher level ones, and Estelle's don't do that much damage either. You really have to rely on Arts all the time.
In the 1st game Estelle really could beat some shit out of enemies with her staff Crafts, so hoarding cp with some metagaming was a lot more viable.

 

[TigerKnee]

The last few bosses of this game are actually "hard" in a really fucking annoying fashion with tons of summons and bloated HP - wonder if you guys will like it or not by then, actually those who are playing on Hard.

 

[SCO]

Finished the prologue/examination at lvl 41...

Man, i had to lower (restart) difficulty from nightmare to hard, and it's a good challenge, needing to use items to the max. Only survived by (fortunately) the last boss of the segment AI glitching for having both Estelle and Anelace separate across the battlefield, he wasted some turns walking back and forth until he got unstuck.

It was tense though, my items were running out and a fortunate level up just before the boss restored my CP and HP and i had nearly full s-breaks (200 not 100). If you try hard around 35-40 lvl, recipes are key. I regret not buying the ingredients for the hard biscuit when i had the chance because the rest is farmable in another zone and they'd be really handy on bosses. It's also unusual in that (at least in the prologue) you should avoid random mobs unless you have something in mind like fill the S-Break cause getting a level takes forever and you consume precious items meanwhile.

BTW, hard difficulty Boss AI seems different from Nightmare. On nightmare, the sewers level, the first boss fight, he hangs around back casting DEF+ buffs (you start doing 0 damage) before coming forward to ruin you, on hard he just comes forward and starts the beatdown so you have a chance.

Still playing the psp version cause why not. It seems like trails in the Sky Evolution will be the ultimate form of this game(s) anyway... Disregarding the new art. And it's on the vita, which is not emulated. And the fact it won't be translated... ever. So disregard it entirely.

 

[SCO]

BTW, the poker game of the casino in Ruel is p broken, if you're so inclined, or not. Cause it gives the most payout for the least investment, although it's easy to 'lose' (you only lose 10 chips which makes no fucking sense for a casino, that's why it's broken, it's like the casino giving exponential free money after exchanging prizes and selling them).

Maybe it's fixed in the pc version.

 

[SCO]

My main princess Kloe is back in the party

(temporarily i suspect)

 

[Shadenuat]

Only survived by (fortunately) the last boss of the segment AI glitching for having both Estelle and Anelace separate across the battlefield, he wasted some turns walking back and forth until he got unstuck

He just fucked me up with his unlimited range Illusion art when I tried to do that

 

[SCO]

I think it's random if he uses the ranged art or the fuck-you-up-close art, i just got really lucky with the positioning so his dumb AI (which tends to cycle through targets - BUT NOT IN NIGHTMARE) was midpoint to estelle and anelace and he approached one, ran out of move points and approached the other. Sometimes he used the ranged art but nothing that my extra copious amount of food sandwich couldn't cope with.

The real trouble comes when he gets near death because he heals 1000 pts and he probably has his speed up buff so he can get two turns.

So you want to have a full S-Break by then, attack what you can, and just before his turn starts, activate the S-Breaks. If you managed to save or make another(s) hard biscuits they make the bosses real easy (too easy). Not only this chapter either.

Meanwhile i found a awful grinding spot, shameful display game. Putting a random but guaranteed eventually mob of 6 enemies with the most XP and quartz in the game + the ingredients to make hard biscuits and the other flamer thing? As if the broken casino wasn't enough.

Shameful display (level 49 now).

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Finished the Prologue. Took me about 7 hours. That is impressive for a prologue....

 

[vonAchdorf]

Finished the Prologue. Took me about 7 hours. That is impressive for a prologue....

There's a run button, you know.

Spoiler

 

[Deleted member 7219]

There's a run button, you know.

Spoiler

Oh, I did, but I also went full Aspergers and spoke to every single person in the town after every single main quest so I could read all the dialogue.

I picked up a few sidequests that way that wouldn't have come from the board in the Bracer Guild, but I've heard you also get items sometimes.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Oh, I did, but I also went full Aspergers and spoke to every single person in the town after every single main quest so I could read all the dialogue.

I picked up a few sidequests that way that wouldn't have come from the board in the Bracer Guild, but I've heard you also get items sometimes.

Darn, I have missed those then. Only items I got in the prologue were from chests, mostly in the tower I think. Don't forget to buy all the Liberl News issues, if you want all the dialogue / information.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Darn, I have missed those then. Only items I got in the prologue were from chests, mostly in the tower I think. Don't forget to buy all the Liberl News issues, if you want all the dialogue / information.

In the first town one of those sidequests involves finding a kid's lost rock, I think you can only get it if you talk to the kid.

 

[SCO]

My main princess Kloe is back in the party

(temporarily i suspect)

I WAS WRONG

welcome back OP caster and healer. Why doesn't Estelle have the good taste to go after dat ass.

It's extremely easy to get 'cheated' out of bracer points (or books...) in these games. Not only there are hidden quests, but sometimes the quest itself has a non-obvious requirement for best points.

My favorite so far in SC is the 'photograph the top of the tower' quest, which

Spoiler

needs to be done after the reporter guest girl gets into the party for the main quest and going through the dungeon with her (it's always game over if guests die), but before going to the academy to progress the main quest

In FC there was ofc that triggering rare book 'quest' that required you to backtrack just before progressing. TO OTHER ZONES!
Simply evil.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Revisiting all areas after every major event to talk to every NPC again (and again) and look for hidden sidequests is actually one of my favorite things about this game.

It helps that the dialogue is really well-translated and often a pleasure to read.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Revisiting all areas after every major event to talk to every NPC again (and again) and look for hidden sidequests is actually one of my favorite things about this game.

It helps that the dialogue is really well-translated and often a pleasure to read.

It really is.