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[desmax]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

What about the censored content in the 3rd (The stuff Falcom removed from the Psp version)? I'm assuming that would raise the ESRB rating to M. What kind of challenges would that pose?

 

[Nyoro SF]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

Sure, that would be great.

I noticed XSEED uses "Calvardian", "Erebonian", and "Liberlian" for describing the citizens of these countries, so may I ask why "Crossbellan" was used in CS2 instead of "Crossbellian"?

What about the censored content in the 3rd (The stuff Falcom removed from the Psp version)? I'm assuming that would raise the ESRB rating to M. What kind of challenges would that pose?

The PC version of 3rd doesn't have to be rated by the ESRB, so there are no challenges, they can just localize the whole thing without having to worry.

 

[desmax]

The PC version of 3rd doesn't have to be rated by the ESRB, so there are no challenges, they can just localize the whole thing without having to worry.

But having a rating gives the game more "prestige", as far as I know.

It's still interesting to have, since the previous two game have it

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

No questions, but thank you for the consistently good localisations. No random accents like FFXV's British Ignis, no grating voices, some extra effort compared to the Japanese script, even (someone link that Rean voice actor article). I can't say how much it's appreciated.

 

[SephLuis]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

First of all, thanks for your and your team hard work bringing this excellent series to the west. A few things I would find it interesting seeing in future blog updates:

- Bugs. Because these are hilarious.

- A little bit about the dictionary of terms you guys use during localization. If or what has changed ? Anything particularly difficult for translation ? Little details that the team likes or find it amusing or intriguing, those kind of things.

It would also be great to use the dictionary talk to remind a little about all organizations in play, especially because of the 3rd.

- Who comes with the talking treasure chests in TitS and the jokes in Cold Steel ? Personally, it's one of the little things that I miss from playing the japanese releases.

-Any chances we will see a bundle of the games on Steam and/or PSN someday ? Trails games are the kind of that you cannot play just the first game so the bundle makes sense.

-Who's the favorite character for everyone on the team ?

Those are a few questions that came to mind. Lift the Zero/Ao rule and I got another ton of them =D

 

[Nyoro SF]

But having a rating gives the game more "prestige", as far as I know.

It's still interesting to have, since the previous two game have it

It's interesting... and very expensive and time consuming. And as far as I know, I've never heard of a game having prestige because of its rating. More or less ratings are just a huge pain in the ass for fans and localizers and producers of games with small fanbases, so I'm very happy it doesn't need one.

 

[Marche90]

I don't really have anything ask, but might as well mention that I'll keep supporting the franchise for as long as I can.

Spoiler

Even when the CS games were never in stock in a single store here in Mexico ;_;

But having a rating gives the game more "prestige", as far as I know.

It's still interesting to have, since the previous two game have it

Not really. They are just a regulation that needs to be followed for a console release, but that's it. Otherwise it just adds up for the costs of localizations

- Who comes with the talking treasure chests in TitS and the jokes in Cold Steel ? Personally, it's one of the little things that I miss from playing the japanese releases.

Nick (twitter here). Was mentioned in a random tweet that she sent once.

 

[desmax]

It's interesting... and very expensive and time consuming. And as far as I know, I've never heard of a game having prestige because of its rating. More or less ratings are just a huge pain in the ass for fans and localizers and producers of games with small fanbases, so I'm very happy it doesn't need one.

I'm just quoting what some other publisher said.

I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't have one, but I would be interested to hear their reasoning if they opted to not get one.

 

[Psxphile]

oh sweet, PS2 bloom filter

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

1. Was the pronunciation of the countries a guesswork at the OG Japanese, based off of different accents, or what? I ask this cuz I flat-out bricked a ton of pronunciations in my head before hearing them in CS1 (Cal-VARD, CROSS-b'll, etc). lol

2. Keep being awesome! I await 3rd with barely contained enthusiasm.

Trying to beat the last chapter in SC on my day off today. I hadn't been using Kloe all game and she got 9999 off one weak enemy and 9 levels at once, it was pretty funny. I like their experience system.

How long does the chapter take typically? I was figuring 4-5 hours if I don't get super stuck on a boss.

Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong chapter. Trust me.

 

[Glitter and Gold]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

No questions at the moment, but good to know you're eyeing the thread in case any arise

 

[Moonlight]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

First of all, Thanks so much for the amazing localizations of all these amazing games. I'm unbelievably grateful for all the Kiseki you guys have managed to bring over and the quality at which you've done so.

Was there any character or situation that wound up being uniquely challenging to localize? Either through some nuance of language or something more abstract in the writing.

Also on a sorta related note, Becky is one of the greats in Cold Steel, and I was wondering how you guys came up with giving her such a thick Scottish accent. I mean, I presume she had a pretty thick regional accent in the original text but most times I see localizations handle accents it's giving the character in question sort of a southern twang. Was there any special association with the choice or was it just some thinking that a southern drawl wouldn't really fit into Erebonia?

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Was there any character or situation that wound up being uniquely challenging to localize? Either through some nuance of language or something more abstract in the writing.

I'm not Hatsuu, but there is an article describing something like this here (you may have read it already)

Another example along those lines is Laura, swordswoman extraordinaire and heir to the Arseid school. In the Japanese version of the game, Laura talks in what’s supposed to be a “knightly” manner to represent her upbringing steeped in knightly tradition and lore. However, trying to render that directly in English ended up sounding incredibly stilted – sort of like someone had decided they were going to forego the use of all contractions and occasionally slip words like “shan’t” into their daily conversation. I had a discussion about it with our translator, Dan, where I basically said, “She’s a 17-year-old girl going to high school. It’s going to sound unnatural and call attention to itself every time if she talks in this oddly archaic manner when this is a modern country and literally no one else does this. But at the same time, I want to preserve that particular air of dignity she carries about her, because that’s one of her defining character points. What can we do?” In the end, we came up with what I think is a good, balanced sound for her. She speaks normally enough to fit in at school, but formally enough to also feel set apart and distinct. I think the main change was taking the “formality” component of her dialogue and infusing it into how Laura phrases things, rather than learning on archaic words and starch-stiff delivery. That freed us up to use more casual wording for casual conversations, but still leverage an antiquated term here and there when it fit the situation.

It's a great article, if anyone hasn't read it yet, I highly suggest that they do

 

[icecreamsnow]

First of all, Thanks so much for the amazing localizations of all these amazing games. I'm unbelievably grateful for all the Kiseki you guys have managed to bring over and the quality at which you've done so.

Was there any character or situation that wound up being uniquely challenging to localize? Either through some nuance of language or something more abstract in the writing.

Yeah, I was going to ask about the situations where something that made sense in Japanese culture didn't have a cultural equivalent in the West.

The one that seemed to cause the most confusion in the CS2 thread was one of the Rean/Claire bonding events

Spoiler

I'm guessing it was onee-san in the original, which was literally translated as "like a big sister". Based on Claire's reaction, people were arguing she was his actual sister, which I doubt. I think it's just something that was difficult to translate from the original Japanese.

 

[Thoraxes]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

- Were there any gameplay elements that were changed or tweaked for a western release of any of the games? Could be anything from making orbment configurations clearer in TitS, to difficulty settings, etc.

- Also, could you name any instances where you had to compromise on a name for something or dialogue because of game restrictions (text box size, voiced lines, etc.).

- Any chance that Falcom could be persuaded to sell some licensed merch in the west (I have no idea how that stuff works)? I'd love to buy CDs, mugs, artbooks, keychains, etc. to help complete my circle of addiction and dedication.

I freaked out when I saw that tweet last year about the nun and the priest walking into a bar because my body knew what it meant, and all this time later, i'm most excited for 3rd out of anything else coming out next year because I absolutely adore the series with all my heart!

Lastly, thanks for all the fun and supporting the Trails series! Without you guys bringing these games over I would've never discovered the franchise, and I feel like my life is better because I got to have these experiences (and it's totally on my brain daily)

I can't wait for 3rd this year, and look forward to the future of the series in the west! (P.S. among the good VA-work/direction for CS2, Duvalie was a total treat)

 

[LimitedTimeGamer]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

I only have one that im curious to know about.

Probaly a Producer issue, but why was Cold Steel 2 Only Released Physically on Vita in Australia?

(Didnt matter too much to me since i imported a UK copy, but i would like to know why vita was chosen over the ps3, which i thought would have the bigger install base.)

 

[chaosblade]

- Any chance that Falcom could be persuaded to sell some licensed merch in the west (I have no idea how that stuff works)? I'd love to buy CDs, mugs, artbooks, keychains, etc. to help complete my circle of addiction and dedication.

Falcom ships worldwide, so anything they have available you can buy. I think they recently changed the order process, it used to be entirely via email (including sending payment information). The shipping they use is expensive, but fast.

And as far as music goes a lot of their stuff is available via digital services like iTunes, Amazon, and Google Music.

 

[Thoraxes]

Falcom ships worldwide, so anything they have available you can buy. I think they recently changed the order process, it used to be entirely via email (including sending payment information). The shipping they use is expensive, but fast.

And as far as music goes a lot of their stuff is available via digital services like iTunes, Amazon, and Google Music.

Oh man, I need to look into that then! The reason I mentioned CDs is that I really do like getting the physical releases so I can enjoy the music in the highest quality/do my own rips and tagging. I have a bunch of audiophile equipment, so my interest is rather niche (besides just wanting something cool to be proud of having on display). I import a lot of stuff from Japan (been buying a lot of CDs and piano books from Masashi Hamauzu's online store), so shipping costs being expensive is something i'm kinda used to.

 

[Gormenghast]

I'm curious about script sizes and precise wordcount for all the 5 translated chapters.

I think we only had an English wordcount for SC (700k).

 

[chaosblade]

I'm curious about script sizes and precise wordcount for all the 5 translated chapters.

I think we only had an English wordcount for SC (700k).

I think we have estimates on Japanese characters for most of series. And there are script dumps of the English versions too but I don't know if anyone has made an effort to get word counts.

For Japanese characters, FC is about 1.5m characters, SC is about 3.2m, 3rd is a bit under 1m, Zero is about 1.6m*, Cold Steel very slightly less than FC, and Cold Steel 2 is around 1.3m.

The number for Zero comes from the fan translation and I believe Ao is roughly similar. XSEED has said the two games are "around 2 million" but I don't think they ever did a character count themselves on it.

 

[Gormenghast]

I think we have estimates on Japanese characters for most of series. And there are script dumps of the English versions too but I don't know if anyone has made an effort to get word counts.

For Japanese characters, FC is about 1.5m characters, SC is about 3.2m, 3rd is a bit under 1m, Zero is about 1.6m*, Cold Steel very slightly less than FC, and Cold Steel 2 is around 1.3m.

The number for Zero comes from the fan translation and I believe Ao is roughly similar. XSEED has said the two games are "around 2 million" but I don't think they ever did a character count themselves on it.

That seems more plausible than the old discussion I read and this famous image:
http://i.imgur.com/TIqUNcJ.jpg

For the Cold Steel games I read it was from 3 to 5 millions each. Those number didn't make any sense...

 

[Young Magus]

Figured this might be the easiest place. I'm the current lead for the Trails series in the West. I usually try to put together random blogs on the XSEED tumblr with interesting topics or possibly interesting facts on localization choices throughout. I have a few I'd still like to do on the Cold Steel arc post-launch and some planned for 3rd in the future, but figured since this is the thread with Trails players specifically, I could ask: do you have any specific questions you would want answered or fleshed out in a blog? Barring stuff like Zero/Ao/Sen III when, because that stuff has already been answered a million billion times by now and the answer hasn't changed. I'll collect questions where I can and answer a bunch later.

Unless this sort of Q&A thing isn't allowed, lol. I'll delete in that case. Just thought it might be nice to ask directly rather than try to think up random things on my own (though I still fully plan on doing that, too)!

First off, thanks for the work.

Listing Time!!!!:

• Bugs, Errors and typos that often come about during localizations.
• Various methods for interpreting dialog between characters or working with dialects.
• The importance of continuity/call forwards when dealing with FC/SC/3rd to CS and vise versa.
• Dictionary usage for translating games and the importance of one.
• Tips on how to pick up words/terms from playthroughts and the localization of the meanings/names into english

 

[omgfloofy]

That seems more plausible than the old discussion I read and this famous image:
http://i.imgur.com/TIqUNcJ.jpg

For the Cold Steel games I read it was from 3 to 5 millions each. Those number didn't make any sense...

I made this image quite some time ago, when we had different numbers that came from people, who weren't XSEED, but in the industry. I think there are still some conflicting numbers, but this is more Guan's specialty.

 

[NolbertoS]

Just started playing FC of Cold Steel. So far loving the ganeplay and translation. Xseed did a great job on it. Secondly am disappointed no PS Vita release for 3rd chapter out West, but hope Xseed or some other publisher takes a stab at a Limited Edition of the game to warrant a small batch. Still praying, but if not, will get the PS4 version.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Just started playing FC of Cold Steel. So far loving the ganeplay and translation. Xseed did a great job on it. Secondly am disappointed no PS Vita release for 3rd chapter out West, but hope Xseed or some other publisher takes a stab at a Limited Edition of the game to warrant a small batch. Still praying, but if not, will get the PS4 version.

There is no Vita version of Cold Steel 3 anywhere. It isn't being developed for the platform at all. PS4 exclusive.

I think you are getting it confused with Trails in the Sky 3C which is PC exclusive in the west but is available on other platforms in Japan.

 

[SephLuis]

I made this image quite some time ago, when we had different numbers that came from people, who weren't XSEED, but in the industry. I think there are still some conflicting numbers, but this is more Guan's specialty.

I am wondering about the character count on Zero/Ao games. Those games are quite long, it took me 80 hours in each to go through everything in the main story plus side quests. I wouldn't be surprised if it really is the biggest titles in the series.

 

[chaosblade]

I am wondering about the character count on Zero/Ao games. Those games are quite long, it took me 80 hours in each to go through everything in the main story plus side quests. I wouldn't be surprised if it really is the biggest titles in the series.

Not totally sure about Ao but Guan and Flamethrower seen pretty adamant that Zero has about 1.6m characters. A bit bigger than XSEED has claimed for FC.

 

[omgfloofy]

Not totally sure about Ao but Guan and Flamethrower seen pretty adamant that Zero has about 1.6m characters. A bit bigger than XSEED has claimed for FC.

Which is actually different from the character count that I've had for quite some time, too.

 

[Gu4n]

Zero's scenario is 1.40 million, Ao weighs in at 1.62 million. That excludes arts, crafts, item and monster descriptions. Ao is definitely the largest in the series; I've found nothing close to the 3.2 million in SC XSEED/Carpe Fulgur mention (even though they got it from Falcom). From what I found, FC's scenario is close to 1.1 million, SC's scenario about 1.3 million and The 3rd's scenario about 5-600k, doors included. My count for Sen and Sen II were very similar to XSEED's numbers.

 

[SephLuis]

Zero's scenario is 1.40 million, Ao weighs in at 1.62 million. That excludes arts, crafts, item and monster descriptions. Ao is definitely the largest in the series; I've found nothing close to the 3.2 million in SC XSEED/Carpe Fulgur mention (even though they got it from Falcom). From what I found, FC's scenario is close to 1.1 million, SC's scenario about 1.3 million and The 3rd's scenario about 5-600k, doors included. My count for Sen and Sen II were very similar to XSEED's numbers.

By scenario are you including side quests or just the main story ?

And good luck with your translation of Zero. If I had more confidence in my japanese, I would help.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Which platform will the Zero fan translation be for? PSP?

 

[omgfloofy]

Which platform will the Zero fan translation be for? PSP?

The plan is to include both PSP and PC versions.

 

[desmax]

The plan is to include both PSP and PC versions.

Any way I can buy a digital copy of it?
For the PC

 

[CrichtonKicks]

The plan is to include both PSP and PC versions.

Fantastic!

 

[omgfloofy]

Any way I can buy a digital copy of it?
For the PC

DMM currently has a major 50% off sale for all of their digital Falcom titles right now that ends on 1/10. I've not ordered through them though, so I'm not sure how it works, but here's an option that I know of right now.

http://www.esterior.net/2016/12/all...es-on-dmm-com-are-currently-on-a-50-off-sale/

 

[desmax]

DMM currently has a major 50% off sale for all of their digital Falcom titles right now that ends on 1/10. I've not ordered through them though, so I'm not sure how it works, but here's an option that I know of right now.

http://www.esterior.net/2016/12/all...es-on-dmm-com-are-currently-on-a-50-off-sale/

Oh, it's region locked

 

[Aeana]

Will the PC patch support both the Chinese and Japanese versions as a base, or just one of them?
Considering the DRM situation on the Chinese version, I wouldn't be upset or disappointed if it was Japanese only.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Got to

Spoiler

Nord Highlands

in CS2 and booooo the cool wild west music from CS1 was changed to something not nearly as cool

 

[PK Gaming]

Trails In The Sky: First Chapter (Chapter 2)

You know, usually i'd make some dumb joke here. Something along the lines of "gee, this sure reminds me of Trails of Cold Steel!" but there's no real point; front to back, this arc IS Trails of Cold Steel, or at least the blueprint for it. Jenis academy is straight up the prototype for Thors (it even has an old school building for gods sake!). But more on that later. I already raved about how much I loved the setting, and that hasn't changed after completing it. I love Ruan. I'm going to miss Ruan. I want to go to Ruan. The city layout, music, quests and people (shoutouts to bridge girl and the gansters) were extremely memorable. It'll be tough for the game to top this one, but the game supposedly gets even better from here.

The Jenis Academy too, was fantastic. Playing through this segment was crazy surreal since again, I've gone through a similar experience in Cold Steel. I really liked Jill and whatshisname and their interactions with Joshua, Estelle and Kloe actually made me long for more high school hijynx (which is ridiculous since I've already played like 120 hours of that!) But damn, will I miss them. This game is especially good at making you miss NPCs after you finish an arc, God. And I haven't even talked about wonderful, wonderful play. Joshua in a dress is the cutest character in this game, don't @ me.

The chapter's conclusion was phenomenal.

Spoiler

Chasing after the "true" culprit was just so... saturday morning cartoon, like even more than usual. The mayor and his goon did it! Oh man, that chase music was the stuff of legends. So tense and so exciting! I'm pretty sure that chase scene is the basis for the Aoi/Zero games. Those games better have chase scenes.

Something that stuck out though, was how they let Estelle to shine here. I mean she's great, but she hasn't really stood out until now, where she kicked all sorts of ass (reflecting bullets with a staff?! I actually laughed out loud) and basically saved the day. It can't be stressed how much like Estelle. She's so normal when compared to the ultra talented Joshua and her Super Dad, but she never lets that deter her. And while many claim her growth throughout both games is impressive, i'd argue that her growth within FC itself is also worth noting. Slowly, but surely, she's become more and more capable as a bracer/person. Joshua too, is honestly a great character. Like, he'd be way worse as the main character, but his character works in complete service to Estelle, serving as this Megaman Zero esque foil who's "always one step ahead of her." He's her partner, her rival and ultimately someone she aspires to be like, but he's also got his own baggage to deal with. The game is pretty obvious about his ~mysterious~ past, but they never really beats it over your head, ultimately preventing him from being too angsty. I look forward to seeing more for him.

Difficulty is surprisingly still relevant on hard, in spite of all the options I have. This chapter's boss really put the pressure on me! Heck, I actually had to lean on Earth Wall since I was getting throttled otherwise (though I imagine i'd have a much easier time if I had faint-resistant equipment). Hopefully the later chapters manage to keep it up.

So all in all, FC continues to blow away expectations. And I've got 4 more chapters to go! I don't know what else to say. FC is really good, lol.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

So all in all, FC continues to blow away expectations. And I've got 4 more chapters to go! I don't know what else to say. FC is really good, lol.

Just two chapters left, actually. Glad you're enjoying the game a lot. The remainder of it is definitely pretty amazing, especially the final chapter.

 

[PK Gaming]

F-FINDERBINDERS, I thought this game had 6 chapters.

Ah well, i'm still enjoying the heck out of myself. SC's not so far off now~

 

[SephLuis]

Welp, I am currently on the last chapter of Cold Steel II and let me tell you a little a bit my last boss battle:

Spoiler

Xeno and Leo

I went prepared. Two overdrives, everyone at 200 CP and 5 bravery points.
The fight took 6 turns.

One overdrive, two buffs, one rush to get everyone back at 200 CP.
Then I activated Laura's S-Craft and dealt 190k damage =D
Still took other two S-Crafts to finish them off, but they didn't had a chance.

It's been since The 3rd that I didn't stacked a character with so many things to deal that insane amount of damage. And even then I don't remind passing the 6 digits of damage.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

You know, usually i'd make some dumb joke here. Something along the lines of "gee, this sure reminds me of Trails of Cold Steel!" but there's no real point; front to back, this arc IS Trails of Cold Steel, or at least the blueprint for it. Jenis academy is straight up the prototype for Thors (it even has an old school building for gods sake!).

Very heartened to hear that. The Jenis Academy stuff is some of my favorite from both Sky FC and SC so that really makes me look forward to Cold Steel.

 

[omgfloofy]

Will the PC patch support both the Chinese and Japanese versions as a base, or just one of them?
Considering the DRM situation on the Chinese version, I wouldn't be upset or disappointed if it was Japanese only.

I don't know for sure, but from my experiences with the DRM in the Chinese version, it would probably be difficult to accomplish. I believe that the Taiwan and mainland China versions have different DRM, for example.

I'm working on a way for us to be able to communicate more info, and try to post updates. It'll be a good way to have a single, centralized place for communication, since it can get mixed up with everything on Discord, here, XSEED forums, reddit, etc etc.

This way, we can try and compile these questions into a faq or something as well.

 

[SephLuis]

I don't know for sure, but from my experiences with the DRM in the Chinese version, it would be difficult to accomplish. I believe that the Taiwan and mainland China versions have different DRM, for example.

I'm working on a way for us to be able to communicate more info, and try to post updates. It'll be a good way to have a single, centralized place for communication, since it can get mixed up with everything on Discord, here, XSEED forums, reddit, etc etc.

This way, we can try and compile these questions into a faq or something as well.

I am very tempted to buy a few titles in there, but I am currently with no CC >.>

I have seen Zwei 2 Plus and Dinosaur Resurrection being recommended in a few threads, but does anyone here played these games and can recommend it ?

I am also looking at legend of heroes 3-4-5, but are these games good ? The PSP versions are ports or remakes ?

 

[Nightengale]

I expected one of your Chapter 2 screen caps to be that scene where Estelle goes all 😦😧😮😮 and instantly hit puberty. 😛

 

[PK Gaming]

I expected one of your Chapter 2 screen caps to be that scene where Estelle goes all �������� and instantly hit puberty. ��

These scenes were very natural and very good

Being a kid and growing up. It's hard and nobody understands~

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

These scenes were very natural and very good

Being a kid and growing up. It's hard and nobody understands~

Go eavesdrop on the boys' conversation in the student council room for extra awkwardness.

Also [Sky FC & Cold Steel]

Spoiler

that theater play scene in Jenis kinda set me up for some unmet expectations of the very brief Class VII performance, considering all the build ups.

 

[Nightengale]

Go eavesdrop on the boys' conversation in the student council room for extra awkwardness.

Also [Sky FC]

Spoiler

that theater play scene in Jenis kinda set me up for some unmet expectations of the very brief Class VII performance, considering all the build ups.

Falcom was twenty different kinds of "baby's first 3D game" with Cold Steel's animation and cinematography.

 

[PK Gaming]

Go eavesdrop on the boys' conversation in the student council room for extra awkwardness.

Also

Spoiler

that theater play scene kinda set me up for some unmet expectations from the very short Class VII performance, considering all the build ups.

Yeah, I really dug Joshua's brief interaction with Hans. They had a surprising amount of chemistry despite only being together for a brief while.

Spoiler

And yeah, the unvoiced band scene doesn't even remotely compare to the play.

In retrospect, I don't think they were quite ready for the jump to the 3D in CS1. I can't even imagine them pulling off a fully 3D version of FC with the resources & experience they had back when they made CS1.

At the very least, their passion for writing dialogue for their characters hasn't changed in the least.