The Legend of Heroes Series - Possibly The Most Underrated JRPG Series

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

Fair enough, I still would suggest in that case to start with Trails from Zero since that one is also on Switch I believe. Specially if you basically already have both Zero/Azure and CS 1 to 3. Events from Zero-Azure and from CS1-2 happen kind of in parallel but since the release order is Zero Azure and later the Cold Steel saga, the later will spoil the former much more candidly than in the opposite direction. Also, Zero/Azure uses an older iteration of all the combat system found in CS so chances are you may have a harder time going back once you get used to the CS quality of life stuff.

Also, have a read through a summary of the Sky trilogy then since there will be some random stuff thrown your way that you will be expected to be familiar with.

I always thought the best order was Cold Steel 1/2, then Zero/Azure, then Trails 3/4.

I do have Zero and Azure for Switch as well, I was planning on playing those after CS 1/2.

 

[ShitLurker]

I always thought the best order was Cold Steel 1/2, then Zero/Azure, then Trails 3/4.

I do have Zero and Azure for Switch as well, I was planning on playing those after CS 1/2.

I'd personally just follow release schedule. I do kind of see merits to both directions. Zero/Azure in the middle does give you a rest from the Cold steel saga, but CS3 and onward has a LOT of Crossbell and Reverie that comes after 4 keeps that trend, so you may end up loathing the area due to overexposure. But honestly it shouldn't detract that much which order you go with from a narrative standpoint. Mechanics and graphics is where you may find more whiplash. What you should definitely not do is start 3 before playing zero/azure but you already have that clear, so you should be fine either way.

 

[Jasper2K]

I have to disagree, if you are going to play this series you need to start from Sky to fully enjoy and understand the story, especially with how heavily the sky series is linked to the future games. They have a slow start but are vital to the later stories and worth it so if someone isn't enjoying it then this isn't the game for them. I'd recommend a different series.

Reality is a lot of new comers are going to be starting with steel. I know many people have only played cold steel and loved it. I started with cold steel did not enjoy sky fc and sc. Enjoyed third and I'm enjoying cross bell. The sky games are also not on console and probably will never be in the west. So are you going to tell people who enjoyed steel 1-4 that went back to play sky but did not enjoy them that the series isn't for them? Lol thank god Falcom doesn't share that mindset.

 

[ShitLurker]

Reality is a lot of new comers are going to be starting with steel. I know many people have only played cold steel and loved it. I started with cold steel did not enjoy sky fc and sc. Enjoyed third and I'm enjoying cross bell. The sky games are also not on console and probably will never be in the west. So are you going to tell people who enjoyed steel 1-4 that went back to play sky but did not enjoy them that the series isn't for them? Lol thank god Falcom doesn't share that mindset.

Now now, as you know, Altina (best daughter) is very very autistic. I definitely prefer people start with CS than never try the series, the recomendation just comes from seeing everything unfold and sharing what was an awesome experience but I definitely see how Sky is becoming a legit problem to go through. And well, it's a very slow burn, CS1 at least gives you a quick taste of action with the cannon assault.

I imagine this debate will also revive once Kuro comes to the west since it seems like that one will be another point of entry game.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Finally started Cold Steel 3 after finishing AC6. Gotta say I really like the prologue, some familiar faces are back from Crossbell and Liberl and well placed memberberries, like the two students falling on one another. I hope the game won't drown me in PCs, at least not until the fourth entry, and definitely hope for no romance between Rean and his female students.

Kinda wish they had justification for Rean to be so weak. Would be cool to have him use a Bo for most of the game (and then he is weak since he hasn't trained with it enough) and switch back to a Katana when shit got real, so he also gets two damage types.

 

[Jasper2K]

definitely hope for no romance between Rean and his female students.s.

Lmao sweet summer child just you wait.

 

[ShitLurker]

and definitely hope for no romance between Rean and his female students.

Yeeeeah, the harem is fucking unstoppable, as long as you aren't a completionist that wants to see every single scene, you can avoid them. This mostly is a CS4 thing though.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Most of the way through chapter 2, I really like it. Smaller cast size (ironically) makes the young characters feel more rounded up, and they feel more down to earth compared to the previous class 7. Shame that in the end it's still Rean taking the spotlight.

I'm really happy that I waited till I played the Crossbell saga beforehand. A ton of cool callbacks, emotional points and seeing Crossbell in 3d and the old cast is great.

Also the battle system feels way better, lots of shit to do that feels meaningful. Especially now that battles are far faster. For some reason I feel that buffing is less effective though.

 

[Triple Flutz]

...I think I want to NG+ Reverie already... Maybe I'll finally get Ys IX instead to not get Trails burnout, but it won't scratch the same itch, and it'll be so long before Kuro is localized anyway that the burnout would have time to evaporate. Haven't been able to play anything since finishing Reverie, there's very few games I care to play but I tend to run the ones I do into the ground.

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

Ok.

I am in Chapter 6 of the first Trails. I am at a spot where there are back to back boss fights. I can beat the first. I CANNOT beat the second. I have been trying (and grinding) since Friday. I'm ready to snap the cunting disc in half I am so fed up. WHAT DO I DO?

Edit: I'm done. I've spent the entire fucking weekend grinding. I don't mind grinding if it actually helps. It is not.

Apparently I need something called Adamantine , of which I have one, can't synthesise, the game doesn't tell you that you need and can't buy anywhere. I literally feel like I'm going to have to start the entire game over to be able to beat the boss. Fuck. This. Series.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Ok.

I am in Chapter 6 of the first Trails. I am at a spot where there are back to back boss fights. I can beat the first. I CANNOT beat the second. I have been trying (and grinding) since Friday. I'm ready to snap the cunting disc in half I am so fed up. WHAT DO I DO?

Which one? There are 3 different Trails series. The best I can tell you is the usual tips:
* Always buff speed and attack when possible, usually you'll have a character with a move that does one of these for free.
* Use Quartz gems to get high tier spells. Attack/spell reflection in particular are a must against some bosses.
* speed is a god stat, afterwards focus on attack/spells exclusively. The only exception are units that can increase their own CP which can generate more special attacks.
* Don't rush battles, save your ultimate moves to critical enemies. Also try to get enemies away from your squashier units so they don't get caught in abilities.

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

Which one? There are 3 different Trails series. The best I can tell you is the usual tips:
* Always buff speed and attack when possible, usually you'll have a character with a move that does one of these for free.
* Use Quartz gems to get high tier spells. Attack/spell reflection in particular are a must against some bosses.
* speed is a god stat, afterwards focus on attack/spells exclusively. The only exception are units that can increase their own CP which can generate more special attacks.
* Don't rush battles, save your ultimate moves to critical enemies. Also try to get enemies away from your squashier units so they don't get caught in abilities.

The first Trails of Cold steel.

I have read three different guides for what I need to do. There are two bosses back to back. The second boss is called C.

It doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter who is in my party. It doesn't matter what I equip. Nothing makes a fucking difference and I'm tired of having my time wasted.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

The first Trails of Cold steel.

I have read three different guides for what I need to do. There are two bosses back to back. The second boss is called C.

It doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter who is in my party. It doesn't matter what I equip. Nothing makes a fucking difference and I'm tired of having my time wasted.

What specific bosses are they? What causes you to die? Is it straight up DPS or some mechanic?

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

What specific bosses are they? What causes you to die? Is it straight up DPS or some mechanic?

I just fucking told you. Vulcan. Then C. Back to back in Chapter 6 with no break.

What causes me to die is they are constantly attacking me and knocking me out so I can't fucking fight back.

 

[Jasper2K]

The first Trails of Cold steel.

I have read three different guides for what I need to do. There are two bosses back to back. The second boss is called C.

It doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter who is in my party. It doesn't matter what I equip. Nothing makes a fucking difference and I'm tired of having my time wasted.

If its chapter 6 thats one of the hardest bosses in the series imo. You could try to spec Fie into a dodge tank if you havn't already face tank C with her. Don't clump together. Been a long time since I fought him last.

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

If its chapter 6 thats one of the hardest bosses in the series imo. You could try to spec Fie into a dodge tank if you havn't already face tank C with her. Don't clump together. Been a long time since I fought him last.

Well I'm done wasting my time with that completely unbalanced bullshit. I'm washing my hands of the entire series. Fuck it and fuck the people who designed it. What a disappointment. I've played Megaten games with less unbalanced boss battles.

 

[ShitLurker]

Most of the way through chapter 2, I really like it. Smaller cast size (ironically) makes the young characters feel more rounded up, and they feel more down to earth compared to the previous class 7. Shame that in the end it's still Rean taking the spotlight.

I'm really happy that I waited till I played the Crossbell saga beforehand. A ton of cool callbacks, emotional points and seeing Crossbell in 3d and the old cast is great.

Also the battle system feels way better, lots of shit to do that feels meaningful. Especially now that battles are far faster. For some reason I feel that buffing is less effective though.

Glad you are enjoying it! Yeah, new class 7 is so much better purely on having a smaller roster. Too many characters is the bane of Cold Steel but 3 is the biggest respite you get from that. Altina specially has a lot of nice development specially when you account for how Rean and her have worked for so long.

As for buffing, most of it you will just achieve passively through orders. Anything that absorbs hits is still gold, but the only moments I was casting a standard buff was to time things properly in the turn bar, not because I felt I needed it.

...I think I want to NG+ Reverie already... Maybe I'll finally get Ys IX instead to not get Trails burnout, but it won't scratch the same itch, and it'll be so long before Kuro is localized anyway that the burnout would have time to evaporate. Haven't been able to play anything since finishing Reverie, there's very few games I care to play but I tend to run the ones I do into the ground.

I just finished some stuff I left hanging. Finished checking out the bonding scenes, some were nice for sure but again, it's all so absolutely fake. I PRAY Kuro is done with the fucking harem and ideally has a single pairing and sticks with it. And the special missions with certain party members were neat little vignetes.

I'd say I'm done with Reverie (though may give a go at fighting the final boss again for kicks).

I hadn't considered giving Ys a try, but I guess I could start with IX as well or look into Tokyo Xanadu, but honestly, after resting for a couple of months with other games I'll just head straight into Kuro with the fan translation patch, I'll let you know if it works well.

Well I'm done wasting my time with that completely unbalanced bullshit. I'm washing my hands of the entire series. Fuck it and fuck the people who designed it. What a disappointment. I've played Megaten games with less unbalanced boss battles.

Git gud scrub! Just joking!

I honestly don't remember much of that fight, though odds are I had already bent the system in half by that point... or not, doing some youtube hunting I found the one you mean and I think it's one of those that I scrambled like a madman to win. Anyway, after that, there is a battle right at the end that had me shitting bricks to the point that I said fuck it and just lowered the difficulty SPOILERS the fucking mecha fight at the end with C. Basically, if you are still willing to invest 15 minutes on trying something else, follow this

https://www.reddit.com/r/Falcom/comments/gyys6p/trails_of_cold_steel_difficulty_setting_save_game/

You basically download a hex file editor (the one I use is HxD) and manipulate your save file to set the difficulty. You open it in the application, search for the 67848 Offset (this means go to row 67840 and column 08, added a screen cap under this, the value you edit is where both red blocks cross), set it to easy which is 01 (you lose out on nothing for doing this). You'll know it worked when you go to load your game and the difficulty it states is the new one you set.



I imagine in easy it should not give you too much trouble (though like others have suggested, try and make Fie an evasion tank, as in give her any accessory that adds to her evasion as well as any orbments that bump that shit up, she can become nigh untouchable outside of SCrafts). The other big suggestion is consider Shell and Reflect spells (or whatever the fuck they are called, the ones that absorb a single hit and there are AOE versions, I think Jusis has a Craft that sets it up), just nullifying an attack is huge and once you get a "feel" for things you will predict when an enemy SCraft is coming to set up your barriers.

Though I enjoy the gameplay, it's not my driving force, so I've stopped trying to be a badass and playing them on hard or similar shit, so no issue with dropping the difficulty, specially when bullshit abounds.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Glad you are enjoying it! Yeah, new class 7 is so much better purely on having a smaller roster. Too many characters is the bane of Cold Steel but 3 is the biggest respite you get from that. Altina specially has a lot of nice development specially when you account for how Rean and her have worked for so long.

It's not just a smaller roster, it's also that they feel more grounded. The previous class 7 was all mary sues that were close relatives of important people. This class 7 is more a
Of a group of fuck ups that are not that high on the totem pole. And yes Altina is just precious, she's more of a little sister to Rean than his actual sister.

I'm nearly in the end of chapter 3 where you get two party groups. Last fights were completely broken by using Juna's order to quickly break the enemies and the Kurt's order to get essentially infinite turns before the enemy gets back on his feet. And using the 100% bonus damage Quartz and the 100% bonus damage against broken enemies I turned Rean into a guided missile (a slow one, but still).

Also switched to Japanese dub after hearing Tio's voice, god damn those American VAs are bad.

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

I've looked in the setting and menus of the game and not found any options. How do I lower the difficulty?

 

[ShitLurker]

I've looked in the setting and menus of the game and not found any options. How do I lower the difficulty?

The game doesn't just let you change the dificulty. You need to edit your save file. I explain how to do it in my last post. It seems intimidating at first but it's not that big a deal.