Comment on Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a JRPG, just got released on Steam—and this is a big deal because this game is to PC what Final Fantasy VII was to PlayStation.

• BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Thank you, that’s what I was trying to figure out. I’m guessing that the worst case scenario is that I can play the originals if they don’t remake the sequels. I think I’ll pick this up. I could use a good story-based single player game.

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  • naticus@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Yeah the reason for the naming is that the original games were Trails in the Sky FC (First Chapter) and SC (Second Chapter) because it was supposed to be one game. And the scope of the story got so huge that it would never have been reasonable to release it as just a single game. FC was a 40-60 hour game while SC was 60-80 hours.

    The 20 hour gap on each is really how much a player dug in because nearly every single NPC has their own story going on in the sidelines and some people (myself included) actually end up following them all at every story transition. They reoccur throughout this game and later games too, so the attention to detail to keep an these things happening is fairly incredible.

    To further answer your original question though, FC really does need SC to get a satisfying end, but FC is a beloved entry anyhow from all the world building it provides.

    The series is currently 12 games and will be 13 soon. That’s 4 major story arcs that all connect, get referenced, have some reappearing characters and talk of those past events, etc. In comparison to more well known JRPG series, it’s not like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest because this is not an anthology series.

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    • atomicpoet@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Thank you for succinctly explaining why Trails in the Sky is such an artistic achievement.

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  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I think they’ve already announced that they’re remaking SC (Second Chapter). As the other commenter said, it’s more of a duology so I dunno if they’ll remake the third.

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• Katana314@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I’d say it’s more accurate that it’s part of a “duology”. Die-hard fans insist on playing the 3rd game to absorb Deep Lore, but it’s not a part of the satisfying bookended arc starting from the first game. You don’t even play as the same main character. Frankly, I’m not sure if they’re going to remaster it.

  Theories say the second game will release in a year, but game dev schedules tend to go wild. I wouldn’t blame anyone for waiting until then, since it is a big cliffhanger. It’s well written, doesn’t feel cheesy, and feels like an “ending”, but sucks to be left there wondering.

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  • Ashtear@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Sky 3rd is simply the third game in this continuous series. It’s not a “die-hard fan” thing. It’s the third work, just as much the third season of a TV series or a third novel in a novel series. Whether or not it’s a good work is a matter of taste. But whether it’s a necessary part of it is not up for debate.

    It wraps up the first arc of a major throughline in the series and starts many more.

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    • Katana314@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Ahem, erm, technically, hah…there’s also a manga that connects the events after SC! Bet that makes you feel silly, being wrong and all. /s

      Whether it’s necessary is not a matter of what the Lord and Savior Mr. Falcom says. It’s purely down to whether players will enjoy playing it. They also make Ys, and the same rule applies there. Honestly, if it was “necessary” to play Sky 3rd in order to enjoy Zero/Azure, I probably wouldn’t recommend any of the three. This even extends to my favorite series, Ace Attorney; part of what makes them great is that you can technically enjoy any of them in any order.

      To prevent sounding too negative, 3rd does refine the combat formulas a bit, and adds some cool characters and moves. For me, that wasn’t enough to justify it. Mainly, I don’t want people with limited time worrying they “must” play 3rd to avoid getting snubbed by key unexplained details. Some people that enjoy that kind of extensive lore, or read every codex entry, may love it, but that’s definitely NOT what everyone plays for.

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      • Ashtear@lemmy.zip ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Again, Sky 3rd is the third game in a continuous series. This is not Ys, which is an entirely different narrative format following a hero in stories specifically designed to be standalone. Ys isn’t even told in chronological order. Ys can absolutely be played in any order without losing anything (other than the second game, which is a direct sequel of the first).

        You didn’t make it to the Cold Steel games, so you don’t know what I’m talking about here. Most of Sky 3rd’s throughlines continued in Cold Steel, not the Crossbell games (they even continue into the Daybreak arc). Falcom pivoted during Sky’s development; they initially weren’t going to do games in Crossbell.

        Trails is Mass Effect writ large. It’s Game of Thrones. It’s Harry Potter. Yes, one can jump into those properties at any point, but they will be lost at some point–if not immediately–or otherwise missing context critical to their enjoyment of the property. That’s basic fictional media literacy. It’s just highly unusual in video games, so people assume it’s like other series. It’s not. It’s closer to long-running manga, television or novels.

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