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[Nyoro SF]

Man, I'm getting spoiled the fuck out of Crossbell and I don't even give a shit. Keep 'em coming.

I'll probably forget the details anyway if and when Zero comes over.

Haha, well my summaries don't cover everything so there are still surprises.

If interested: I'm writing a summary for Ao here, using the Crossbell Archive as my basis and adding details where relevant.

Oh wow, this is much better than my stuff! Only thing I disagree with is "Earnest", even if that's an official Falcom spelling there's no way that shouldn't be "Ernest" and I'm sure XSEED will agree with me.

 

[Young Magus]

Finished Ch. 2 of Zero.... few thoughts

Spoiler

At one point or another everybodys gonna want a piece of Lloyd huh?

Spoiler

The Mayors aid turnin into Sonic was something else. Why is it that in this and sky a mayors aid is evil?

Spoiler

A major theme of the duolgy is gonna be about Justice and the different means and methods and challenges of carring it out huh? Bank Pres' speech alongwith the SSS' work often being caught in red tape and Elle being frustrated in the system got me thinking about it

Spoiler

Man Ineviable Struggle is not as cool as the OG version

Spoiler

That play was awesome holy shit, and the twist of gin/in was spolied thanks to me playin CS2......still cool tho. Boss fight was hype....cept the music change

But yea Ch. 3 here we go.......

I think the PSP ports are more different than bad. Namco changed the battle system when they ported the game. I'm not aware of any glaring issues other than the terrible translations.

Also not aware of any fan translations. There was one that got started but I'm not sure it ever made any progress and the last update was in 2011.

Any of the PC versions are arguably the best versions, even though I'm playing the PSP versions myself. The battle system in A Tear of Vermillion and Cagesong of the Ocean are White Witch had a proper battle system, but was changed for the localisation to the disaster mentioned above.

But yes, they're amazing games. White Witch is very understated and poetic in its writing, of which undoubtedly not much is left in the English version. It quickly became one of my favourite games ever. A Tear of Vermillion is basically the blue-print of Trails in the Sky to the extent that I wonder whether some bits in Trails have been deliberate call-backs to A Tear of Vermillion. I'm currently playing Cagesong of the Ocean, so I can't say too much about that one.

There are no fan translations in the works for the PC-98 or PC versions. I considered working on White Witch, but soon realised that I lack the skills to do the original writing justice in English.

I enjoyed them, though english is not my first language so I was able to overlook the Blind Idiot Translation.

White Witch is the best one imo, a journey through the world in the same vein as FC. I'm kinda meh toward A Tear of Vermillion, I really liked the first half but the second half lost me, especially the main villain goal which was just... uh. A Cagesong of the Ocean is OK, but I do recall having some issues with some later plot developments, but I really don't remember much.

I don't know if I'd call them good games, but I think they are least worth a try. Worst thing that'll happen, you'll find them boring, I don't think they are unplayable, the gameplay is just too simple.

Oh, I do find the American order better than the Falcom order (I played the Falcom order), I don't think ToV ending is quite as effective if you already played White Witch. White Witch is the last one, chronology wise, and the plot points aren't tied together until the last part of Song of the Ocean.

Thanks for the replys fam.

Yea I heard about the influence that those games had on Trails so I became interested in the games. Also heard bits and pieces of the OST via Falcoms Spotify Account and found the song to be nice/interesting

Lookin around on falcoms website I found that the trilogy can be bought via download so Imma look into that down the line.

If interested: I'm writing a summary for Ao here, using the Crossbell Archive as my basis and adding details where relevant.

Checked around for a Zero recap.
Lol @ chapters summaries after the prolonge.

 

[Nyoro SF]

Ao no Kiseki Intermission

Because I have zero patience and the hype is too high, I decided to play through the Intermission in one go!

Spoiler

So this is fanservice, huh... lol. I probably should've seen this coming. That being said though, there were a lot of interesting moments later in this intermission.

What I like about this system, over Cold Steel and Persona 4, is that this sort of fun beach time and amusement park bonding is all combined as one event. So if you dislike this sort of thing it's not at all hard to just power through quickly. While I'm not really a fan of fanservice shenanigans in games that I don't consider "fanservice games" I find that Lloyd is an enjoyable enough doofus that it makes the scenes funny. And Randy's thirst is real. C'mon Falcom, give Randy at least one girl in the game.

My eyerolling hit even higher heights with the sidequest of an evil penguin that attacks the clothes of women. That's gonna generate a few dozen GAF pages in the far future. The scene itself was pretty tame though. What is it with Falcom and perverted sheep and penguins?

After all that fanservice stuff is over (and there isn't even that much, honestly) this intermission becomes really interesting. Those who have played Cold Steel 1 know about the tickets and school festival, well it's the same here. It even has a fun minigame where you shoot monsters using playstation buttons. However what's amazing about this is that there's a fortune teller... a fortune teller from the East with green hair? Who else could that be but LUCIOLA, our bell ringing enthusiast Enforcer? You can bring anyone in your party to the fortune teller, and it will drop hints to the upcoming plot. I took Rixia and it said that Lloyd will break the darkness in Rixia's heart. Also there's a Mirror Castle with a mirror inside that can "read your deepest wish", so I took Ilya, and her deepest wish is to essentially drive her dance of passion onto the world as long as she can. And this stuff is referenced later in future cutscenes! I can only imagine how many combinations there are. And every time you attend an event your team members move around to different attractions so you can get a lot of dialogue options.

On another note, I bought Tio a 10000 mira necklace. The dialogue between Tio and Lloyd at this part was too funny.

And then KeA goes missing... we run into the amusement park only to discover CAMPANELLA THE FOOL has taken it over with an illusion. Campanella says he only helped the terrorists for fun and introduces himself as the Ouroboros enforcer that he is. It feels a bit random, but honestly it's a great way to throw a wrench into Lloyd and co's team as they've announced their existence as something to watch out for.

And then the fog monsters appeared... and yes, those are Luciola's fog monsters indeed. I was kind of expecting to hear Luciola's bell, but I didn't hear it. And the monsters were green instead of grey. Not sure what was going on there, but that's obviously not a coincidence.

We find KeA but this part is a little strange because she is clearly glowing blue, like brightly blue, but after we catch up to her no one comments on it? I mean she is glowing brighter than a Mag-Lite on full brightness but no one says anything lol. Yeah the aura disappears... AFTER we get there. Gotta clean up your cutscene timing Falcom. You'd expect Lloyd to say something like "Hey KeA, did you swallow a lava lamp or something?" Doesn't happen though. KeA is staring at the Mirror Castle and asking "Why?" but I didn't quite get it. Sorry KeA.

And then as we are on the boat heading back to Crossbell something happens which makes my hair stand on end. Mariabelle... talks? There was a fuzz effect for dramatic pause... is that the first time in the series that Mariabelle has talked? Why did it sound so scary? Is Mariabelle actually part of the cult? Should I hide under the covers tonight? WTF is going on?

This series man... even the fanservice, even the mundane, can spook you sometimes with those revelations. And it's all thanks to the buildup.

 

[Aters]

Can't wait for your later impressions.

 

[Gu4n]

Haha, well my summaries don't cover everything so there are still surprises.

Oh wow, this is much better than my stuff! Only thing I disagree with is "Earnest", even if that's an official Falcom spelling there's no way that shouldn't be "Ernest" and I'm sure XSEED will agree with me.

The official spelling is Earnest Ries while they clearly write 'Reis' in katakana, so I already took that liberty. I should change Earnest to Ernest because I don't see XSEED sticking to that.

Checked around for a Zero recap.
Lol @ chapters summaries after the prolonge.

Yotaka already wrote an extensive summary of Zero which he's planning to add, so that's also incoming.

Spoiler

And then as we are on the boat heading back to Crossbell something happens which makes my hair stand on end. Mariabelle... talks? There was a fuzz effect for dramatic pause... is that the first time in the series that Mariabelle has talked? Why did it sound so scary? Is Mariabelle actually part of the cult? Should I hide under the covers tonight? WTF is going on?

This is where playing the original instead of Evolution really pays off. Suddenly voice acting is enough to creep you out. Things have started moving.

 

[PK Gaming]

When Estelle says she lost the crystal:

 

[cwistofu]

Did the GOG version of Sky SC get patched to add the treasure messages and fix bugs?

Or am I an idiot for buying games on GOG

 

[chaosblade]

Did the GOG version of Sky SC get patched to add the treasure messages and fix bugs?

Or am I an idiot for buying games on GOG

The DRM free versions get updates, but slower than Steam. Around release Steam is treated as the testbed and gets rapid updates, then once a lot of things are fixed the DRM free versions get a single update with all those fixes.

If you want to play XSEED's Falcom releases on PC near release Steam is the better option for sure. At this point I don't think there should be much difference though.

 

[PK Gaming]

Dorothy

Is

Fantastic

 

[Nyoro SF]

Ao no Kiseki Chapter 3 - Part 1

And so we draw closer...

Spoiler

So we start off in the chamber of Ouroboros (thanks to floofy for translating that Door in the 3rd that shows the same Celestial room) and there's a little chat with our Anguis buddies. Anguis #1, #6 and #7. Campanella confirms that Luciola won't help him again and Anguis 6 grumbles about the rule that Enforcers have free reign, which is funny. Anguis 6 is called "Professor", so I suppose that could be the Professor we saw in chapter 2? Anguis 7 sounds like an older woman. I know Anguis #3 was Weissman, and Anguis #2 is Vita.

Not sure why KeA's feeling so down. Everyone is so demotivated when KeA is sad lol.

There's a fun optional scene with Shizuku and boy it is quite long for the optional scene! Also it scared the daylights out of me to see Shizuku open her eyes, I know that might sound rude but this artist has the cutting edge on "hollow-looking eyes" and I didn't expect to see that. A sad but heartwarming scene that confirms that Shizuku must be tied to the plot after all? If Arios was actually a villain and has been holding back this entire time...

Anyway Cryptids have started appearing all over the region (tying into Cold Steel 2) and we're tasked to exterminate these big baddies. We exterminate 2 and Lloyd discovers an unusual flower whose name I can't pronounce. It turns out after we take this flower back to the church (Ries) that this flower is actually the base for Gnosis? God damn! Apparently this flower has origins in Gnostic literature?

Well after I did these sidequests and main stories... suddenly we see WALD BEING DEMONIZED WTF? He took that fucking loss from Wazy so hard that he's in cahoots with whatever is remaining of the cult and took the Gnosis! So the cult is still active! What are they planning?

For non-spoiler talk:
The sidequests in both Zero and Ao have been really amazingly good. Sure, there's a few where you have to collect books or do fishing, but there are so many interesting ones that teach you about the world or bring some absolutely fantastic comedy. Some sidequests are so important, I'd be hard pressed to tell people to skip them. Sky sidequests were similarly fun, but Crossbell series ratchets up the fun factor (and makes traveling to areas to do them less tedious).

 

[preta]

Why are you playing through Zero and Ao at the same time? You know that's not going to work very well...

 

[Nyoro SF]

Why are you playing through Zero and Ao at the same time? You know that's not going to work very well...

Whoops. lol

 

[preta]

Whoops. lol

...I can no longer find any of the posts that made me think that you started Ao before finishing Zero, but it seems you did make reference to finishing Zero a few pages back. Carry on.

Spoiler

This will be good.

 

[SephLuis]

Keep going Nyoro. We're all waiting.

Meanwhile, I am playing Cold Steel 1 and just got to

Spoiler

Heimdall

in chapter 4.

I get soo happy to know what's happening in Crossbell when they mention it in Cold Steel =D

 

[Nyoro SF]

Ao no Kiseki Chapter 3 - Part 2

Spoiler

OMG... right after I finished talking about sidequests I did the one with the missing luggage and the doll... the living dolls? So perhaps the precursor to KeA...! And of course the Doll Studio! And what's this about the Capua Delivery Service...? So the Sky Pirates decided to become more legitimate, eh? God, these games are so good.

KeA learning Braille for Shizuku? WHY IS KEA SO CUTE? And Dudley going nuts over leather and shoes is great. They really do reward players for looking around and talking to NPCs between scenes.

Whoa, now we actually entered the Doll Studio (he let us in with a cute machine doll), and I see Renne left Pater-Mater behind. The old man says he only helped Enforcers and he knows very little about the Society and its plans and that he made dolls for the Society despite not knowing much about them (despite taking the time to, uh, deliberately paint Ouroboros symbols on his walls?). And this old guy shows us a very nice picture of Ouroboros that indeed proves that Anguis #6 is that professor who was with Campanella earlier. And we get a nice shot of Arianhod wearing that massive armor, so I'm going to assume she is Anguis #7. Two Anguis at once going after Crossbell, eh...? Anguis 6 (Greed?) unified the Black Factories. Christ, what an info dump. Heh, he says that Anguis 7 could take on all of SSS and win. Now he mentions the Phantasmal Blaze Plan. Tio's like "I hope you realize that by only telling us the plan's name you've induced us all with anxiety" lol. Links between the D:G and Ouroboros; very little, Ouroboros rescued Renne from the "Pleasure Garden" though. REVELATIONS. Wazy asks if it's really OK for him to be telling us this and he says it's up to us to decide if it's OK. lol

Wow that felt a bit random with the information drops but it was fun learning more details about Ouroboros, with that cool cast shot. Tio says that Ouroboros sure likes playing around, with such incredible technological strength that surpasses the Epstein Foundation, and Ellie wisely notes that Ouroboros must have a crazy amount of money. Randy comments that the Jaegars and Heyue look normal in comparison lol. I still don't know why the old man was so forthcoming with information though.

Wow at the sudden train derailment! And I love the little sketches Lloyd makes to show his reasoning haha. Combine the recent Wald transformation we saw with the claw marks on the train... can't be anyone other than our newly demonized Wald. When we catch up to him Wald mentions that the power he has is different than the power that Joachim had. Interestingly enough, Ellie calls it "ogre-like" or something thereabouts... now where have I heard something like that before? Maybe I'm overthinking her "monster-like" statement.

Really, Falcom has done a good job with horror here, the transformation with Wald with his face covered and how rapid and seamless it was, combine that with legitimately spooking me along with his ghastly yell. Of course he does not look so scary in person given what we've seen so far from Ernest and Joachim, but it's shocking to think that Wald could be pushed to such lengths. Funnily enough he is weak to Stat Down effects, so I just did Burst -> Chrono Down -> Chrono Down -> STR buff -> STR buff -> wail on him with Mirage arts and smacking him... and we got introduced to our first "Cold Steel Victory", as in we were whooping this boss's butt but it says he won anyway lol.

Onto the rainy day 3!

 

[Young Magus]

At the absolute last chapter of Zero.....

How long do I got?

 

[Nyoro SF]

Ao no Kiseki Chapter 3 - Part 3 & Chapter 4 - Part 1

Wow what a ride! This shit is getting crazy and even though there's so much happening, there's still a lot hidden behind the curtain.

Spoiler

So I get the alert about two missing bracers (that I fought earlier in the 2v2) so we enlist Jonah, who has sweet-talked his way back into the Epstein Research group, to power boost our signal from the top of Orchis Tower to find these guys. And when we find them... BLUE. FLOWERS. EVERYWHERE. These things are growing like mad. Off topic but during this part where we rescue the first Bracer who's infatuated with Tio she's like:

Bracer: Tio's here... does that mean I've gone to heaven?
Tio: (deadpan) I'm afraid that you are entirely mistaken.
/dead

We push forward and lo and behold... OUROBOROS. We now see my guess was correct and Anguis #6 is indeed Professor... Novitarus? Anguis #7 Arianhod is here of course (in Katakana it's spelled Arianrod, but I'll go with the previous spelling) and Mr. Campanella himself. They seem to approve of the crazy flower growth but I can't tell if they were the ones that caused it. The Professor is a pretty funny guy despite having a creepy face, asking Tio to join the org based on her tech skill and being super crestfallen when she refuses. After fighting Ouroboros pet cryptid we try to face on Arianhod... and get hit with the KOF Billy special! Rixia's identity is then revealed! And her reaction afterwards was kind of funny.... "I have to go back to practice".

Zhao mentions that Rixia has the ability to change her appearance using a hidden power. Not sure what he's talking about here exactly. When suddenly...

The Red Constellation decides to move and attack Maintz! It shocked me to see so much actual death and killing in a Kiseki game. Randy takes personal responsibility for his family and decides to leave the SSS. The conversation between Randy and Wazy as Randy was leaving was great. Did I mention that Shirley's voice really gets on my nerves? Yeah nice Gears of War saw rifle you got there. It has the name Testa-Rossa, which is the name of the final boss of CS2 I believe. Watching the cutscenes with Randy and Shirley and the SSS were amazing; cutting through Randy's heavy-duty firearm like butter! And the conversation between Randy and Lloyd afterwards was great, with Randy admonishing Lloyd for bringing the SSS onto the battlefield, then Lloyd getting angry at Randy for thinking the SSS don't understand the danger of what they signed up for. Lloyd showing that backbone! But then...

Spoiler

...it was ALL A DISTRACTION AND CROSSBELL IS BURNING! The security forces are getting overwhelmed by the jaegars who have attacked! Ilya gets murdered by Shirley, HOLY SHIT as if I couldn't dislike Shirley anymore than I already do! Zhao and his crew get attacked and have their building burn down! Shit is getting crazy! Wald decides he's going to fuck up the Old City and even wipes out his own crew! We then confront Sigmund, who doesn't answer Lloyd's accusation that he was employed by the Empire (and it wouldn't surprise me at all if that was the case, given what we know about Osborne).

This battle against Sigmund was nuts! I had to retry like 30 times until I found a winning strategy. Thank you Tio, and your Guard S-Craft. Took me the better part of an hour.

Then the IBC explodes into flame and shards! Holy shit! Then their aircraft that they used for their stealthy moments are revealed! Such incredible destruction and strategy and we don't even know WHY they did it! I like how Wald is sitting on top of the airship like a gangster in his demon form.

Arianhod looks on with sadness at the scene of war across Crossbell. Yeah don't be all sad, you've caused this shit elsewhere Ouroboros.

At the end of this part in chapter 4, KeA runs to the 2nd floor, receives a call from someone... and she's decided to do something... but WHAT IS IT? Who is our blue glowy SSS mascot talking to?

That ends that part! Jesus christ! Could this story get even crazier...? and sad? ;_;

 

[preta]

This is going to be so, so good.

The romanizations for a few of those names you mentioned are

Spoiler

Arianrhod and Cao.

 

[Young Magus]

Those Ao post are my motivation to plow through zeros final dungeon.

 

[Aters]

Those Ao post are my motivation to plow through zeros final dungeon.

You don't like Zero's final dungeon? I think it's a good dungeon.

 

[Young Magus]

You don't like Zero's final dungeon? I think it's a good dungeon.

I like it, hell I love it,

Just that Ive been up all night over this past weekend to play this game. Ending Fatigue/Hype got me in a rush is all.

Speaking of which,

62:44:20.

That's the time it took in my first playthrough.

Gotta say its was worth the hype, the last dungeon was great and the last battles were HYpe. Even thought some of what the final boss was sayin before the batttle got me lost ;-;. The post battle dialogue between

Spoiler

Estelle/Joshua and Renne had me feeling the feels tho

Also,

Spoiler

The car chase was golden with the arrrangement of the battle theme being icing on the cake. Speaking of music cues BRUH when they were rushing up the stairs to the final dungeon AND at the same section they were at in the prologue with Lloyd giving the speech when the dungeon music cued up IT.WAS.SO.RIGHT.ON.POINT. Speaking of which is there any reason as to why why were Estelle and Joshua were not there in the prolouge? Is it the same situation like with CS and Crow and Mil?

But the ending delivered, if I didnt know about Ao I woulda thought that Zero was a standoff game.

Spoiler

i dont wanna no more trouble in crossbell, everyone was so happy in the ending ;-;

Also I find myself both likein and dislikin the new ost. Some tracks work while others dont. Came in with a bias but I find that give and take the evo ost are not too bad....just different.

Spoiler

Cept Inevitable struggle OG version was DEF better

 

[Gu4n]

Congratulations on finishing Zero! And...

Spoiler

Speaking of which is there any reason as to why why were Estelle and Joshua were not there in the prolouge?

Definitely. It's explicitly explained in Ao no Kiseki. See you there.

 

[clay_ghost]

Congratulations on finishing Zero! And...

Definitely. It's explicitly explained in Ao no Kiseki. See you there.

One of my favorite

Spoiler

WTF

moment in the series.

Spoiler

Also like the fact that the series is basically taking place in an alternate timeline haha

 

[Young Magus]

Congratulations on finishing Zero! And...

Definitely. It's explicitly explained in Ao no Kiseki. See you there.

DAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SHIT!!!

And I made the mistake of watching the psp opening and the trailer for Ao......

My hype levels are to the max. I had the impression that I was gonna take a break from Kiseki but N.O.P.E. Back on the train I go.....

 

[Gu4n]

DAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SHIT!!!

And I made the mistake of watching the psp opening and the trailer for Ao......

My hype levels are to the max. I had the impression that I was gonna take a break from Kiseki but N.O.P.E. Back on the train I go.....

I'd say I'm sorry but I'm really not. I also expected to take a break after 14 hours Zero but jumped straight in Ao for another 2 hours anyway. Then my eyes forced me to take a break (read: sleep).

 

[PK Gaming]

There's no way all of you can understand Japanese, right?

There must be some super fan translation i'm not aware of or something...

 

[Young Magus]

I'd say I'm sorry but I'm really not. I also expected to take a break after 14 hours Zero but jumped straight in Ao for another 2 hours anyway. Then my eyes forced me to take a break (read: sleep).

Yea that's gonna be my life these next few days lol.

And I should just skip Ao evos opening video right. Remember hearing that it's spoiler overkill

 

[Gu4n]

Year that's gonna be my life these next few days lol.

And I should just skip Ao evos opening video right. Remember hearing that it's spoiler overkill

People overexaggerate, but that's probably for the best in this case. Why watch an opening video when you can play the game, right?

 

[aravuus]

Opening videos that just show scenes from the game are the most worthless videos ever

Don't know if that's the case with Zero/Ao, just throwing that out there lol

 

[Sitrus]

For the Evo-remakes, skip the opening if it's your first time playing

I visit this thread everyday for your impressions Nyoro! It's the stuff of legends.

 

[Nyoro SF]

Congratulations on finishing Zero! And...

Definitely. It's explicitly explained in Ao no Kiseki. See you there.

Oh? There's an explanation? I have to admit I was thinking just a few days ago about how strange that was.... that's kind of crazy, there's an actual in-universe reason for it? Looking forward to finding out the answer then!

For the Evo-remakes, skip the opening if it's your first time playing

I visit this thread everyday for your impressions Nyoro! It's the stuff of legends.

Glad you enjoy.
The best part is I'm not even close to covering all the cool little stuff in Ao and Zero in my writeups; there's still a lot of really interesting tidbits all over the place, with both people and conversations, that I don't mention because it would just take too long. But it's supremely enjoyable.

I think Zero and Ao are the kind of games that are just perfect for a second playthrough where you take the time to talk to the right people before major events in certain areas. Might be the best constructed world I've seen in a JRPG series of all time.

 

[preta]

I cannot wait for your future Ao reactions.

 

[SephLuis]

I cannot wait for your future Ao reactions.

Me too.

This is gonna get interesting.

 

[Young Magus]

There's no way all of you can understand Japanese, right?

There must be some super fan translation i'm not aware of or something...

I've studied back in university, studied abroad now I'm back in Japan working. So I had/have some language background.

That being said tho there was a good chunk of information that went over my head over the course of my zero playthrough. Was able to get most of the info tho and I did use a guide for the subquests.....

Spoiler

tho that's for every Kiseki game

Glad you enjoy.
The best part is I'm not even close to covering all the cool little stuff in Ao and Zero in my writeups; there's still a lot of really interesting tidbits all over the place, with both people and conversations, that I don't mention because it would just take too long. But it's supremely enjoyable.

I think Zero and Ao are the kind of games that are just perfect for a second playthrough where you take the time to talk to the right people before major events in certain areas. Might be the best constructed world I've seen in a JRPG series of all time.

Just from zero alone you can see/feel how well connected and built crossbell is and how the plot affects everyone on the streets/the factions and everyone in between. It's really really really well built and you just can't help but appreciate it.

 

[Nyoro SF]

Ao no Kiseki Chapter 4 - Part 1.5

Spoiler

So Crossbell must recover from the destruction... so we do some sidequests to help out the townspeople which is nice. There's an amusing conversation with Dudley where he asks if Lloyd drinks, Lloyd says he does it every now and then... and Dudley says he's disappointed since Guy loved drinking lol. The guide mentioned a scene with Ian at the cathedral but when I went I didn't see it.

Also thank god Ilya is still alive. I thought for sure she was a goner. That "death" scene had me shook. We don't know the result of the Rixia and Shirley battle, but later on in a sidequest we see that Rixia has now donned the uniform that we saw at the end in CS2, and is still working for Cao with her identity now exposed. I wonder what's next... Cao, you slimy... window-breaking slimeball.

Noel leaves the party. No hard feelings Noel, peace, thanks for the car.
Wazy leaves...? He disappears and we don't see him again? What's going on here? At least he was nice enough to take his MQ off before he vanished. He was definitely shook by what happened to Wald, maybe he's taking matters into his own hands?

But then we get this weird scene where the Steel Maiden and her cohorts help me stop a con man! Isn't using an ancient superpowered lance to stop a scammer a little excessive? Uh, thanks though... nice for Ouroboros to lend me a helping hand as 3-minute temporary honorary members of the CPSD (lol).

Suddenly... THE PLOT THICKENS?

Spoiler

ARIOS gets named the Commander in Chief of Crossbell? He resigns from the guild (well they'd have to fire him anyway for getting politically involved). But Lloyd surmises that he's been planning this with Dieter for a long time! ARIOS THE VILLAIN IS FINALLY MAKING HIS APPEARANCE!? PERHAPS MY GUESS WAS RIGHT SINCE THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF ZERO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Hope you like wearing that coat Arios cause you're not gonna be wearing it for long buddy.

We meet Nielsen, who discusses the circumstances behind Guy's death (I enjoy talking to this guy in every sidequest)... Lloyd correctly surmises that the murderer was someone Guy knew, since he wouldn't have gone alone to Orchis Tower's construction site alone otherwise... and Guy is shot in the back? SHOT? DID DUDLEY SHOOT GUY? And his Tonfas got stolen? How did Guy's badge get that slash mark on it then? Did Arios and Dudley fucking kill Guy?

We head to Revache's old HQ and Lechter (I call this guy "that red-headed bastard") and Killika basically tell the SSS that Crossbell is about to get invaded by both the Empire and the Republic. That it was a natural outcome of their funds being frozen (they have a point). And they call KeA "the key" after Lloyd and co. rush out?? How do these people know all this stuff? Speaking of which, the implication... that DIETER WAS THE ONE THAT HIRED THE RED CONSTELLATION TO BLOW UP CROSSBELL? Lloyd doesn't say it out loud but... the implication was there! Dieter used them to improve his political position and gain more legitimacy as President? JESUS CHRIST!

SUDDENLY ARIOS SHOWS UP AND FUCKING KIDNAPS KEA. ARIOS THE VILLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN oh wait, KeA left of her own free will... so she was talking to Arios by phone before! He was manipulating her all along! Arios the VILLAAAAAAAAAAAAIN.... is taking her to Mishy theme park? What on earth for? TO BE CONTINUED!

 

[Gu4n]

*chokes on popcorn*

I applaud you for sharing your impressions.

 

[Aters]

Incoming insanity.

 

[Young Magus]

Ao Prologue

Great way to kick off a sequel I must say

Spoiler

Startin the game off with action was the best way to pick up after zero. Love that the game had you cruise your way with Dudley and Arios for the first few screens then LOLNOPE the wheels come off and your back to actually fighting for you life. The debut of master quartz in the series has me excited for all the gamebreakin thats possible just off the fun I had with CS 1/2.

The prologue boss being a retrux of zeros final battle in a way was wise especially given that I jumped in right after zero. Not only does it show the parties strength but it shows Lloyds character in two ways: one when he recalled what Jocram tries to pull off when he went down and warned the party another was when he went up to Erenst and tried to draw his humanity out. It was neat in a way. I didn't think that it it could get better.

Then all of a sudden KEVIN MOTHAFUCKIN GRAHAM COMES IN AND SAVES ERENST!!! When I heard his voice I was like then he did his cool thing and he reveled that he did it cuz he got a call from Arios. Kevin coming and going was neat and while I enjoyed it a lot it felt that I missed out mildy for not playin the 3rd .
The convo with Ries went over my head but I gathered that he was tellin her to watch out in crossbell and that somethings are about to go down correct?

Back in Crossbell found out that SSS got a new fourth member: Wazy ^_^. I liked how he played during the ch 3 boss in zero so to have him in my party full time (?) has me hyped.

Well that's it for now.

P.S the ost so far is good.

 

[Gu4n]

Spoiler

The convo with Ries went over my head but I gathered that he was tellin her to watch out in crossbell and that somethings are about to go down correct?

I happened to have translated that dialogue, so here you go:

Spoiler

Kevin: This Lloyd looks like a promising fellow. Has the potential to become as strong as Estelle and co. But even still... He'll have to work to catch up with her.
Ries: ...Kevin.
Kevin: Ah, sorry. Got a little later than expected. Ehm... What's with the bag?
Ries: That little stand over there sells Altair's specialty, roasted chestnuts. Fresh from the oven and exquisitely sweetened. Really good. Really.
Kevin: And so that's why you decided to buy an entire bag of 'em? You really leave me here wondering whether you'll be fine on your own? I could tag along, y'know...
Ries: ...No. Your reputation is bad enough already.If Archbishop Eralda finds out that I snuck you in, he'd burn me at the stake.
Kevin: W-would he really go THAT far!? It's all thanks that case with Owen of the Congregation of Divine Worship... After that incident, their attitude toward the Sacrements has only hardened more.
Ries: And that is exactly why I'm going on my own, dressed like this. You know that, too, right?
Kevin: Argh... Fine! This is all thanks to Grand Master Selnert and her expertise in poor decisions...
Ries: She made an appropriate selection. Don't worry too much while I'm there, okay? Cesar and Marcus will be there. No need to worry.
Kevin: Fine, fine. I get it. ...But Ries. Will you really look after yourself? Just be honest and don't do anything strange while you're at that side. Lemme know if something happens. And remember your trump card.
Ries: I know, I know... ...Is it really that bad?
Kevin: Yeah... At least within the sacred-profane realm. Looks like "they" also started to make their moves. Crossbell, the City of Sins...They, too, must've heard that name.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Nyoro is doing NOTHING for my willpower right now. Must...be...STRONG...

 

[Young Magus]

I happened to have translated that dialogue, so here you go:

*daps*

Thanks Gu4n you the real mvp.

Spoiler

Would we learn about the churches inner workings a bit more in this game or is that all 3rd material?

 

[Zephyx]

I happened to have translated that dialogue, so here you go:

Spoiler

Kevin: This Lloyd looks like a promising fellow. Has the potential to become as strong as Estelle and co. But even still... He'll have to work to catch up with her.
Ries: ...Kevin.
Kevin: Ah, sorry. Got a little later than expected. Ehm... What's with the bag?
Ries: That little stand over there sells Altair's specialty, roasted chestnuts. Fresh from the oven and exquisitely sweetened. Really good. Really.
Kevin: And so that's why you decided to buy an entire bag of 'em? You really leave me here wondering whether you'll be fine on your own? I could tag along, y'know...
Ries: ...No. Your reputation is bad enough already.If Archbishop Eralda finds out that I snuck you in, he'd burn me at the stake.
Kevin: W-would he really go THAT far!? It's all thanks that case with Owen of the Congregation of Divine Worship... After that incident, their attitude toward the Sacrements has only hardened more.
Ries: And that is exactly why I'm going on my own, dressed like this. You know that, too, right?
Kevin: Argh... Fine! This is all thanks to Grand Master Selnert and her expertise in poor decisions...
Ries: She made an appropriate selection. Don't worry too much while I'm there, okay? Cesar and Marcus will be there. No need to worry.
Kevin: Fine, fine. I get it. ...But Ries. Will you really look after yourself? Just be honest and don't do anything strange while you're at that side. Lemme know if something happens. And remember your trump card.
Ries: I know, I know... ...Is it really that bad?
Kevin: Yeah... At least within the sacred-profane realm. Looks like "they" also started to make their moves. Crossbell, the City of Sins...They, too, must've heard that name.

LOL at

Spoiler

Grand Master Selnert. If that's how they address her, I wonder how high in the church hierarchy she really is.

I just finished CS2 and I have a lot of questions.. I also have a guess on how they plan to narrate CSIII. I'll just post my thoughts here or in the OT later.

 

[Gu4n]

*daps*

Thanks Gu4n you the real mvp.

Spoiler

Would we learn about the churches inner workings a bit more in this game or is that all 3rd material?

Ao builds on The 3rd in that regard, so if you have skipped it you'll miss out on stuff.

LOL at

Spoiler

Grand Master Selnert. If that's how they address her, I wonder how high in the church hierarchy she really is.

The leader of a (religious) military order is called a Grand Master. I've had unfounded assumptions that the Gralsritter are loosely based on the Teutonic Order, meaning they could stick to German and have her be the Hochmeister der Gralsritter.

 

[JeffZero]

Guys. Gals. Wow.

I began my journey through Trails in the Sky several weeks ago. I started chronicling that journey for posterity. I hit the end of SC's Chapter 6 tonight and there were tears. I wrote four full-length GameFAQs posts and I could have written more. I don't know where this series was all my life but I am so damned glad I found it now.

I don't want to post in this topic again 'til I've at least finished SC, but holy heck. This series is amazing. I eagerly anticipate chatting with y'all in future months.

Trails has a new diehard.

 

[Nyoro SF]

Guys. Gals. Wow.

I began my journey through Trails in the Sky several weeks ago. I started chronicling that journey for posterity. I hit the end of SC's Chapter 6 tonight and there were tears. I wrote four full-length GameFAQs posts and I could have written more. I don't know where this series was all my life but I am so damned glad I found it now.

I don't want to post in this topic again 'til I've at least finished SC, but holy heck. This series is amazing. I eagerly anticipate chatting with y'all in future months.

Trails has a new diehard.

Glad to hear it my friend.

Stick around in the thread if you like, just keep in mind there's a lot of huge spoiler bombs lurking behind the black bars!

Are you ready for the 3rd this spring?

 

[JeffZero]

Thank you, thank you!

The 3rd is coming to the West in Spring '17? I'd know it was due sometime next year, but that's great news!

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Chapter 6...Chapter 6 wins again.

 

[Nyoro SF]

Ao no Kiseki Chapter 4 - Part 2

I blame Mishy for this.

Spoiler

So we hightail it to the Castle of Mirrors. Lloyd notes on the ride over that it's possible that Dieter has been planning this for a very long time. I had played CS2 before so I knew a few things about Dieter but not the capacity for his villainous nature. Looks like the Declaration of Independence and the hiring of the Red Constellation was just a grab for power?

HOLY SHIT WE SLIP INTO THE MIRROR AND KEA IS SITTING ON THE BLACK OMEN! That ain't the child's seat KeA. ARIOS THE VILLAAAAAAIN is standing next to her all solemn and evil-like... knew we could never trust this guy. For the record I have always said so! But next to Arios is none other than the now revealed evil witch Mariabelle! QUELLE SURPRISE that the woman who talks to kids with a creepy voice is actually a villain and a bad cosplayer! These drills won't be piercing the heavens if I have anything to say about it! She even has an ojou laugh...

This is the part where Mariabelle starts dropping bombs! My Japanese had a real rough time of it but let's see if I can figure this stuff out. The Croix family has been around for a very long time, and they had possession of the Mirage Sept Terrion... but then they lost it (or it vanished? can't tell) and decided to recreate it using alchemy and rechanneling. THEY WERE THE ONES THAT CREATED THE CULT! To protect KeA while they build up power and influence... and KeA is actually a homunculus that will be used to channel the Mirage Sept-Terrion! Given what I know about CS1 and CS2 and Millium and Altina, I knew about artificial humans and such already and suspected KeA as such since her origins from the "Doll Studio". Which brings me to the question of if KeA was such a critical part of their plans for such a long time how the hell did she end up in a suitcase in the auction house? But then....

Spoiler

Who else pops up using magic screens but the Ouroboros Anguis and Campanella! And Dieter himself! THEY WERE IN CAHOOTS THE ENTIRE TIME? Lemme tell ya somethin Dieter and Mariabelle... Ouroboros is never in cahoots with anyone... BUT THEMSELVES! And you're gonna get burned! The SSS try and rush the stage to retrieve KeA but Arios the mother fuckin VILLAIN decides to stop our path and challenge us to a battle! Fuck yeah I finally get to challenge this guy!

So the battle begins, I do a quick scan, and.... 9999 EXPERIENCE GAINABLE? Now that's the Falcom I know and love. I'm not caught off guard like I was with Sigmund and manage to defeat him on my very first try. Tio continues being the battle MVP with the best damage and defensive options versus bosses like these and Lloyd being the evasion king while Randy hits for real man damage. Unfortunately despite knocking Arios down he still kicks our butts using a backhanded technique in the followup cutscene. And then...

Spoiler

KeA decides to go Super Strobe Saiyan and reveal her true form as... uh, the actual Sept-Terrion? So it's a living Sept-Terrion and not just a channeling of power? Unfortunately KeA is not listening to the SSS to stop assisting the bad guys out of misplaced desire to protect Crossbell! Everyone teleports out of there to Orchis Tower leaving Arios and the SSS behind. You know, I never did understand the magic behind teleportation and how Ouroboros and crew were able to do it.

BUT WE'RE NOT DONE YET! Somehow, KeA summons three mighty Gundams from the sky using her new-found power! Did she call them from another dimension or something? Or are they divine knights? Anyway the robots proceed to crush the invading forces in super badass ways with one robot basically voiding Garrelia Fortress out of existence! Everyone standing on Orchis Tower has big smiles on their face as Dieter begins to assume control of the new Crossbell that was part of Crois' power play all along!

Did I mention that it was pretty funny that Falcom, despite giving Dieter his evil dialogue and laughter, used his rather friendly and unassuming portrait for it? I mean I know he is supposed to be a Bad Dude... but it's hard to be disgusted at his villainous nature with the nice guy expressions, they probably should have commissioned at least a few evil pieces... lol

After all is said and done then who else comes in but NOEL SEEKER to arrest the SSS wearing the shiny new uniforms of the new Crossbell army! I knew this Noel chick was bad news, she loves the military so much she has no problem arresting us on orders of our new villainous commander! But then... as Lloyd is pinned... he demands to know if Arios was the one that killed Guy. And Arios STRAIGHT UP ADMITS IT! CONFESS THE TRUTH 2016 PLAYS AS HE WALKS AWAY AND ARIOS THE VILLAAAAAAAAAAIN fades to black! Ever since Arios jumped down that manhole... I knew this day would come! REVENGE WILL BE SWEET!

Spoiler

So let's break this whole shebang down cause it looks like the SSS is S C R E W E D. We are up against:
Dieter the God Emperor
Rita "Mariabelle" Repulsa
Arios "Wind Blade Master" Maclaine
Pterodactyl Dinozord
Megas
Gundam that can void your existence
KeA "I'm having a teenage episode and won't listen to my dad" the Mirage Sept-Terrion
Wald the DMC Boss
Anguis #7 Arianrhod the Steel Maiden and clothes shredder
Arianrhod's squad of steel soldiers (including fan favorite Duvalie)
Anguis #6 Evil Scientist Novitarus who likely has a bunch of ancient technology at his command
Campanella who is basically untouchable (except at video games)
Sigmund the mighty leader of the strongest jaegar corps in the West who has Wild Rage VIII unlocked
Bloody "Gears of War" Shirley and the rest of her jaegar goons

On our side we have:
First year police graduate Lloyd
Retired playboy soldier Randy
Tech support Tio
Political secretary Ellie
AWOL Wazy
A wolf

The challenge is steep... how will we get over this barrier? What will happen after we get arrested by Noel? Find out on the next episode of... Ao no Kiseki!

 

[SephLuis]

About your questions Nyoro:

Spoiler

The Mirage treasure killed herself about 1000 years ago. She basically saw how humans would use her power and choose to kill herself. This is what caused the Dark Ages in the continent and is constantly referenced in CS 1.

The Crois family then decided to create a new Mirage treasure which is KeA. However, KeA also gained control over time and space instad of just Mirage so, ops, they created a treasure that has control over the three superior elements.

Dieter isn't also the completely bad guy. He wanted to defend Crossbell from the influences of the Empire and the Republic and for that he needed power. He proclaimed Crossbell independency but he also knew that both would probably react with military force. That happened, which is why he planned to have God KeA and the Gundams on his side.

That's what I can explain so far at least.

 

[Nyoro SF]

About your questions Nyoro:

Spoiler

The Mirage treasure killed herself about 1000 years ago. She basically saw how humans would use her power and choose to kill herself. This is what caused the Dark Ages in the continent and is constantly referenced in CS 1.

The Crois family then decided to create a new Mirage treasure which is KeA. However, KeA also gained control over time and space instad of just Mirage so, ops, they created a treasure that has control over the three superior elements.

Dieter isn't also the completely bad guy. He wanted to defend Crossbell from the influences of the Empire and the Republic and for that he needed power. He proclaimed Crossbell independency but he also knew that both would probably react with military force. That happened, which is why he planned to have God KeA and the Gundams on his side.

That's what I can explain so far at least.

Wow! This is very illuminating.

Spoiler

I don't know how in the hell I missed that dialogue. My reading ability must be worse than I thought, but it was a really tricky situation to read even when I tried using my Google Translate capture app to back me up.

If KeA suddenly gained ability to control all three superior elements, then why was she given to the cult? Just to bide time until they could reawaken her again when the time was right? Or was it because she was too dangerous?

Don't know if I can agree with Dieter not being a total bad guy, if he had just used KeA's power defensively I could see that, but he also enlisted the Red Constellation (which caused death and destruction throughout Crossbell as a political ploy) and since they founded the cult they were behind the human experimentation and all that entails as well. Of course we cannot forget Ouroboros who now has a reputation for causing havoc that he employed too.

Maybe more will get revealed behind Dieter as I keep playing.