Let's Play RPGs I Missed! [Now Playing: The Legend of Dragoon]

Alcor · Saturday at 9:32 PM

Then there's the foreshadowing you don't even realize was foreshadowing until something happens like 6 games later and all of a sudden you look back and go "ohhhhh"

Roarian · Sunday at 1:24 PM

Epilogue 1 - Sins of a Wise Man

Before tackling this game's actual ending, there's a little errand to finish up, one last sidequest…

Side Job: The Embassy Mission

Over in the castle lounge area we can find Olivier at the bar. He greets us, and says he heard from Cassius that we've become full-class bracers. Well done, well done! Congratulations, dear little pussycats! Estelle asks him if he, ugh… We'll just go with 'thanks.'

Joshua wonders what brings Olivier here? He'd heard he was invited to tonight's celebratory banquet, but… well, he didn't think he'd be here already! Estelle agrees - seriously, what's a guy who loves parties doing drinking alone in a quiet place like this?! Better be careful, or some people might start thinking he's an impostor!

Olivier muses that the news of us becoming full-fledged bracers filled his heart almost to bursting… So much so that he saw no recourse but to hold an impromptu concert in front of the Grand Arena. Ah, if only we had witnessed the unbridled excitement he inspired in his legion of fans! Estelle doesn't buy it for a moment, and Joshua is reminded of his 'performance' at Haken Gate… Olivier declares that such a public explosion of passion left him drained, so he wandered here for a quiet place to drink and brood. Ah, here he is, in restless dreams he walks alone, sharing the drink they call loneliness… and before us sits the beauty and beast that is… man.

Joshua grumbles that he can't make those words fit together into anything resembling sense. Estelle, trying to break through the awkwardness, brings up that reunion with Cassius that Olivier talked about before. He apparently has something he needs to talk about with Dad, right? Olivier plays dumb - he does? Joshua confirms he does. As a matter of fact, it seemed to him as though Dad already knew who he was! Olivier, mouth agape, quickly laughs that off and says it's inconceivable, pretty kitty! Surely a man like Cassius and a man such as him would have little need to… spread their wings and… fly!

Estelle concludes that Olivier definitely knows something. He's acting weird, even for him! Joshua agrees there must be more to this story, for sure… Olivier just tells us 'pups' to forget about the worries on our mind! Come, dance, to the beat of the rhythm of the night! Let the sound of our feet and our laughter chase away those lurking twin trolls, Forgotten Past and Unknown Future!

After this conversation, we can head over to the Bracer Guild and check the boards for one last sneaky side-quest hidden in the post-game…

The Embassy Mission
Term: Short
Client: Mueller
Pay: 2000 Mira
Difficulty: Low
"I would like someone to find and detain one blond-haired, self-proclaimed musician wearing a white coat, who is thought to be arriving in the Royal City by eventide today."

Naturally we return to the lounge in the castle and speak to Olivier, who greets us cheerfully. Estelle, Joshua! It's the Birthday Celebration! What a waste it would be if we were not to enjoy it, no? Estelle concludes Olivier must be the guy we're after, and Joshua agrees there's no question about it. Olivier has an idea, and asks if we'd join him in a little afternoon delight? Just the two of us, and him… Doesn't that sound divine? Come on now, do say yes!

We both stare at him, then Estelle says it's funny he asked… See, we were just talking to this guy who asked us the same thing, and we said that we have this friend whom Olivier would probably just love to talk to… Olivier, intrigued, loudly wonders 'did we really, now?' Honest to goodness? Joshua promises that's absolutely true. Would he like us to introduce him to Olivier? He agrees he'd love that, and tells us to please lead the way!

A little later we are back at the Bracer Guild, and Olivier wonders why we're back here? Estelle tells him not to get his neckerchief in a knot, and Joshua assures him that Elnan's calling over our guest. Elnan agrees and tells us that the interested party has been successfully contacted and should be arriving shortly. Olivier says he imagines she simply can't bear waiting for the opportunity to meet him! We should tell him, did he make this kitten's acquaintance before, or is this to be their first meowing? Estelle remarks that she believes this 'kitten' knows him and really wants to see him…

Olivier giggles to himself, ha… Kittens in Grancel… Perhaps it's Schera, or perhaps even Carna or Anelace…? No, no… He must not discount the possibility that it might be Mayor Maybelle, or maybe even dear sweet Lila… Surely it's not Princess Klaudia or Tita…?! Joshua says that's… well, let's just say that he's got one hell of an imagination. Elnan says that our guest has arrived, and Olivier is happy - is she here, now? Come in, dearest, do come in!

With that kind of welcome, a man's voice replies, who is he to refuse? Major Vander steps inside, much to Olivier's dismay, and tells us that it seems we've done what he asked, then. He appreciates it, and on behalf of the Erebonian embassy he thanks us. Estelle assures him that's not necessary, and Joshua agrees that Olivier himself was really eager to oblige him.

Olivier argues he doesn't remember being present at that discussion! But does this mean that the kitten who wished to see him… was Mueller all along?! Major Vander wonders what Olivier is smoking? Her Royal Majesty the Queen directly invited him to tonight's banquet, so he's not about to tell him he can't go, but… he knows what Olivier's like. And he knows he's going to get into trouble if he's not properly chaperoned. As such he's keeping a close eye on him until dinnertime, and he's going to like it!

Olivier, upset, tells us that we tricked him! Estelle tells him not to blame his own bad hearing on us… Joshua agrees he was the one who decided it was a woman he was meeting - we never said a word! Vander, impatient, says that evening swiftly approaches… There's a lot of paperwork to fill out, and Olivier is going to be the one to do it. So let's get him back to the embassy, alright? Vander bodily drags a panicking Olivier away, and he yells out: 'Oh nooo!'

Elnan says that's the case closed, he guesses… As such, he'll give us our rightful reward. Since our proper Bracer Notebooks aren't ready yet, he'd like us to note this down in our junior one. For this we get 2000 mira as well as the final 3 BP to finish out this game with a perfect score! Estelle feels a little guilty about this request, but okay. Why don't we get back to the celebration? Joshua agrees that sounds good.

Done? Okay, time to get serious. It's time for dramatic confessions and ice cream!

Once we're done exploring everything, we can make our way back to that little cul-de-sac rest area behind the Edel Department Store - the one we stopped at during the night when we went sleuthing around town, too. Where Joshua and Estelle promised each other answers once this was all over. Joshua remarks that Estelle looks pretty tired, so how about we sit down and take a break for a little bit? We get one more text box to confirm, or stay and walk around a bit more. Let's take a load off…

We plop down on the bench, and Estelle sighs - hew, walking all over the place like that can really take it out of you! Joshua figures he's glad we can get off our feet for a minute, then. For now, at least, Grancel seems like it's genuinely at peace. Estelle wonders if he really thinks so? She's just glad that we can leave it all up to Dad and everyone else, at least for today. Of course, she really thinks it should be his responsibility to begin with, given that he showed up so late… Joshua chuckles and guesses that's true. Maybe it's just part of his nature?

Estelle sighs, and says that it's not like we can do anything about it. Oh well. Check us out, though - we're actually full bracers now, finally! Joshua agrees that this means we're not beholden to any specific branch anymore, and can go wherever we want. Any time a branch is short-handed and requests help, we'll just take an airliner to get there! Our newfound freedom will also mean greater responsibilities, though.

Estelle thinks we'll be able to handle it, though. Hey, we actually played a major part in stopping a coup! Plus, this means she'll never have to hear Dad going on about how it worries him when Joshua's not around to keep an eye on her! Joshua chuckles and agrees that his days of saying that are probably at an end, yeah. She really showed him what she can do! Still, he thinks he'd like to stay with her from now on. Estelle pauses, blue-screens, then demands 'HUH?!' Joshua wonders if he'd just get on her nerves, to get that kind of reaction?

Estelle blushes furiously. No, it's nothing like that… but what did he mean by 'stay with her?' Joshua says that it's just that we know each other so well, we can practically read each other's minds. He thinks we make a good team, and he'd had to break that up. Estelle concludes he meant bracer business… and here she was thinking he was going to tell her his big confession or something… Joshua is confused, but Estelle lets out a furious yell and tells him that it's nothing! Forget she ever said anything! Joshua just wonders what all that was about…?

Estelle jumps up from the bench, stuttering that b-boy, it sure is hot out today, huh?! There's nothing to beat hot weather like ice cream, huh?! It'll be her treat, just like she promised! So he should just wait right there! With that Estelle runs off, blushing all the way, while Joshua stays behind on the bench, musing that he doesn't think there's actually an ice cream stand in the direction she headed. He wonders if she…? Nah, there's no way…

As the cheerful music suddenly changes to something decidedly more ominous, an off-screen voice notes that he does so envy us our youth, sometimes… Joshua turns and spots a familiar face standing at the edge of the clearing - it's Professor Alba! Alba remarks that it's been a long time since we last met, hasn't it? (Not really…)

So much has happened lately, he declares , but things are finally settling down again. People truly thrive the most in peaceful times. Joshua just stares at Alba with a frown, who wonders if something is the matter? He looks a bit pale… He would have thought we'd be in better spirits generally, now that we've attained our senior bracer status. Speaking of which, he truly must congratulate us on our success. So long as, of course, he's not being too forward in doing so!

Ever since we first met, Joshua admits, Professor Alba has always made him really uncomfortable. He's a little more used to him now… but he still gets the shakes a little bit whenever he looks at him.

And, he muses, in all the cases we've dealt with… there have been people who just 'forget' things… He's always been there, investigating… No matter where we've gone… His timing's almost a little too good. Alba just stares. Joshua admits that what really clued him in was Kurt's reaction. He lost his memories too, and said he wasn't feeling so well when he was in the stands at the tournament… and Alba was right there with him. Joshua turns towards Alba and asks him, straight up, whether it was him…?

Alba chuckles to himself, his portrait changing subtly to be straight-on, and he says it's… impressive that even with his cognizance and recollection being puppeteered, Joshua was able to piece it all together. Indeed, it was him! As Alba glares deviously, his portrait changing to something decidedly nastier, he says he shall clear away our confusion. He raises his hand to snap his fingers, causing a rush of memories to flash before Joshua's eyes - images of himself playing his harmonica, of him and someone else with suspiciously familiar hair following someone through a door, of him wielding bloodied knives, of Cassius with his staff, and finally of Cassius carrying Joshua in his arms like he did in the introduction of this game. A symbol depicting a snake biting its own tail... 'Oh…' Joshua says, his eyes suddenly without their shine. He's…

As the scene darkens, Alba concludes Joshua finally remembers him, doesn't he? When his heart was in tatters, he was the one who rebuilt it… who RESTORED it. It was he who poured a soul back into that empty vessel. Joshua snaps that he has the power to twist the minds and memories of men…! The seven Snake Apostles… the Anguis… He's one of them! Weissmann the Faceless…! Weissmann declares that, ha, he's not heard that name pass his lips in ages… Enforcer No. XIII. The Black Fang… Joshua Astray!

Joshua snarls that Weissmann was the one behind all of this! Which means that Lieutenant Lorence has to be… Weissmann confirms it is as Joshua surmises. He was kind enough not to erase Joshua's memories of him, so he's not surprised Joshua was able to make that connection so quickly. Ha ha, he's sure he'd be pleased to know Joshua was thinking of him! Joshua wonders if Weissmann is here, then, to finish him off, then…? It's nothing of the sort, no. The first phase of their plan went off without a hitch, he explains, and since he had a moment to spare he simply thought he'd come to see Joshua…

Joshua wonders about this 'first phase'... Is he talking about that seal in the old ruins…? Weissmann confirms he's talking about the 'Gate' which blocks the path to the 'Ring'... Wrenching it open was but the first step of many… Hahaha! Already there exists no means of closing it again! Joshua knew that wouldn't be the end of things… What the hell is this 'Shining Ring'?! What is Weissmann's little 'society' after?!

Weissmann muses that if Joshua wishes to know that, why doesn't he rejoin the organization? He's certain that he'd be able to return to active duty in no time. Oh, there's no need to look so glum… They can get him back into fighting form! When Joshua just gives him a withering look in response, Weissmann tells the boy to spare him. He does understand that Joshua has a family now, after all, whom he regards as important. He greatly admires his father, to say nothing of the girl he so adores… Even with HIM on their side, throwing those gifts away would be the actions of an idiot. Joshua just looks away.

Weissmann explains that he's come here to see Joshua today… to offer him true freedom from their association, as thanks for the integral role he so perfectly played. Which means that he must congratulate Joshua… He's already a free man! Weissmann is most grateful for the work that he's done over the past five years. Joshua stares. What? Weissmann tells him not to be so boring. He was expecting a bit more cheer out of him at hearing such news. Hrm… Perhaps there's a flaw in the design of his emotions? Joshua darkly chuckles to himself. He's… been helping Weissmann? Ha! What kind of bullshit is he expecting him to swallow?

Weissmann admits, pardon him, he completely forgot to tell him that part… He never intended Joshua to be an assassin, you see, but rather a spy. The society abandoned him, and thus they played on the pities of a noble-hearted man… and it worked. Joshu was given a loving home, and while he was there, their contacts would check in on him from time to time. And he'd tell them EVERYTHING. They were particularly interested in his reports on the movements of the Bracer Guild, as well as his intel on one Cassius Bright. But of course, he wouldn't remember having done things such as that… He was… not himself, at the time.

Joshua, horrified, reels back at the revelation of his status as a sleeper agent, a Manchurian candidate. Weissmann notes that Cassius Bright, that S-ranked bracer, was the foremost impediment to the success of this plan of theirs. They felt certain he would be quick to act in order to stop any coup d'etat that should occur. Through detailed analysis of his behavioral patterns, though, they finally devised a plan that would lead him out of the country… and out of their way. The intel that Joshua had unknowingly been feeding them had been most useful indeed! Joshua hangs his head, muttering 'No!' to himself, Weissmann grins and says he must thank Joshua again. These past five years have been of inestimable help. Joshua snarls that he's lying. HE HAS TO BE LYING!

As he crumples to the ground, Joshua reflects on all that time he spent with Estelle… Weissmann wonders why Joshua is so sad? Has his feigned ignorance not earned him a beloved family, as well as a happy home? If he says nothing, they'll never know! Joshua doesn't respond. Weissmann reflects that this is the sort of thing that might weigh heavily on a fellow, he supposes. Since his fellow members of the Bright household are such good people… perhaps they're a little too good for a monster such as Joshua? The boy just stares blankly.

Weissmann explains that however much Joshua may model his behaviour after a normal, decent person - he is no such thing. He must surely have noticed? His ability to reason through and execute a solution to a problem, no matter the circumstances… His physical strength and reflexes, better than an entire squadron of normal soldiers… He is Weissmann's greatest creation - his human weapon. That is who and what he truly is… the Black Fang! Joshua has no place in the lives of normal people, and he'll never be happy in their presence again. He can't be!

But… when it becomes too much for him, he's always welcome to return… To the Grandmaster's society of souls… Back to Ouroboros.

Weissmann leaves, and Joshua wonders to himself if this… is his punishment? His sister, and Loewe… He…

We shift over to the next street, where Estelle returns carrying a couple of ice cream cones as she makes her way back to the rest area, sighing to herself in dismay. She doesn't know how to face Joshua after all that happened earlier… but she's kept him waiting for way too long. It's getting late, too. She's such an idiot! She needs to learn to think before she opens her mouth. She wonders if Joshua's figured her out… She tells herself she's gotta cool down. She feels like she's stuck in perma-blush mode…

Weissmann walks up to her from across the street, cheerfully greeting her - he thought he might find her around here somewhere! Estelle greets 'Professor Alba' easily. Fancy seeing him here!

Alba says that, indeed, he was actually just speaking with Joshua. He congratulates us on our promotion to senior bracer status, and Estelle thanks him. Estelle pauses, and Alba wonders if something's wrong? She just says that she's not sure… but something just seems different about him. What's got him looking so cheerful?

Alba pauses for a moment, eyes narrowed, before he plays it off - ha, okay, she got him! To tell the truth, he's made several major advances in his archaeological research. We might say it has put him in a good mood! Estelle thinks that's awesome, but apologizes for not sticking around to hear about it - the ice cream is going to melt, so she'd better get going, sorry. See you later! As she rushes off, Weissmann chuckles to himself. Cassius Bright's daughter… he thinks she's going to be quite a lot of fun…

Back at the rest area, Estelle approaches Joshua and apologizes that it took her so long. It was SUPER crowded there, but she's returned with valuable loot! Joshua seems back to normal, saying that's cool - now we can eat like kings! He takes one of the snacks, and Estelle takes the opportunity to mention that thing from earlier…

Joshua immediately says he did want to apologize for that. He didn't mean to be so vague, but it just wasn't an appropriate time for confessions, you know? Estelle says she didn't mind so much. Joshua muses that when he gave it some more thought, it seemed kind of silly to try and rush things. We may be senior bracers now, but that just means we have different work to focus on. We might have to really consider our future prospects. Estelle blushes and says that he's right… To herself, she complains that she's gotta stop getting so far ahead of herself. Ack!

Joshua remarks that it's evening already, so why don't we eat our ice cream on the way back to the castle? Estelle goes to say something, and Joshua wonders what's up? Does he have something she wanted to discuss about the future? Estelle immediately clams up - whatever gave him THAT idea? No, come on, let's just get back to the castle!

Next: We search for the whereabouts of light...

maskedanddanger · Sunday at 2:55 PM

Here we go, the last part of the First Chapter.

Nerdorama · Sunday at 3:01 PM

You mentioned Metal Gear Solid earlier? Well...

I know you figured "Alba" out a while before this, but I must confess: I didn't. The swerve with the portrait change hit me like a truck. Also I wasn't planning to do a bunch of OST posting (or I'd have started earlier), but I want to impress upon people the sheer gear grind in the OST in this scene too (and introduce Weissman's leitmotif, which you might have heard briefly in the middle of the second phase of the final boss, too).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB6gg6IiLkY

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maoOI-F9Gks

Roarian · Sunday at 3:20 PM

Nerdorama said:
You mentioned Metal Gear Solid earlier? Well...

I know you figured "Alba" out a while before this, but I must confess: I didn't. The swerve with the portrait change hit me like a truck. Also I wasn't planning to do a bunch of OST posting (or I'd have started earlier), but I want to impress upon people the sheer gear grind in the OST in this scene too (and introduce Weissman's leitmotif, which you might have heard briefly in the middle of the second phase of the final boss, too).

This scene is very effective in how a tiny portrait change in both Alba and Joshua give the game away. The moment Alba is no longer in his original perspective, he looks like a threat. The friendly smile from earlier in the game is now sinister. The music helps, of course. Joshua, meanwhile, has had the occasional moment where his eyes go dull and lifeless, but here that becomes almost constant - just removing a tiny highlight in his eye is enough to indicate how much this is messing with his head. It's great! The dramatic flash of negative when the memories flood back, too... It's excellent.

There's an 'enhanced' version of this game out there, the EVO one, which has a bunch more art - but it's missing the portrait stuff judging by the youtube video I looked up, which seems unfortunate. I hope they capture this in the 3D remake...

In retrospect, Joshua's 'true identity' was foreshadowed through his moves - his crafts have always had a bit of a cruel bent to them, given his original 'Sever' S-Craft, cloak & dagger, and evil eye... and then his final S-Craft, the all-killing Black Fang. The very same name that it turns out he was using while on the job as a kid assassin. Damn. Good stuff, honestly... Really contrasts with Estelle's more innocuous stuff like 'Pummel' or 'Barrage', huh?

Nerdorama · Sunday at 5:11 PM

Yeah, the simple presence or absence of "eyelights" for Joshua does a ton of work in the portrait expressions and meanings, something that'll keep up as this storyline continues. Needless to say, Joshua's backstory and Weissman's connection to it are huge elements in Trails in the Sky SC, with a lot of elaboration on things very briefly alluded to here.

And yeah, Estelle's Craft names are as blunt and straightforward as she is, compared to Joshua's edgy foreshadowing. Honestly she does get a handful of slightly more poetic names in future games (at least one of which seems to be one of Cassius's Eight Leaves One Blade attack adapted to staff work), but nothing on Joshua or even really some other party members.

Alcor · Sunday at 6:43 PM

All the new portraits for Joshua and Alba/Weissmann in that scene are just so effective in showing how much of a turning point that moment is. All of a sudden, a bunch of expressions that have never been used the entire game come out in quick succession and it just hammers home how powerful the moment is.

Roarian · Sunday at 9:32 PM

Epilogue 2 - The Whereabouts of Light

We find ourselves back in the castle, where Estelle is pacing around her room. Scherazard asks her what's wrong? She's been completely on edge for a while now. Something on her mind? Estelle admits that, yeah… Did she think Joshua was acting weird at dinner? Schera is confused, and says that if anyone was acting weird, she'd say it was Estelle herself. Joshua was as calm as ever. Estelle says that's true, but… Schera draws a conclusion from that. Ah, she gets it… Estelle can't keep secrets from her…!

Schera says she had a feeling about it, but she was wondering if she'd ever admit this to herself… Estelle is kinda falling for Joshua, isn't she? Blushing, Estelle wonders if she can really tell that…? Schera says that it's pretty obvious. Sorry, hon. She's guessing she hasn't admitted this to Joshua yet, right? Estelle confirms she hasn't, no. Joshua is always picking on her, telling her what a dope she is… Not that she should be criticizing anyone, she guesses. Schera sighs, and says she's so naive… It's a wonder she's lasted this long. She needs to learn to look a little deeper. Big Sister is ready to begin her education in love! Estelle declares she's never asking Schera for advice again…

Schera quickly backtracks - she's just kidding, sorry. She doesn't mean to tease. But… we guys set out just when puberty was about to hit, so it's only logical that we'd start picking up on feelings for each other… Estelle asks if she really thinks so? Traveling together just seems like such a petty reason for such a thing. Guess she's gotten a little more self-aware since we started all this, but this isn't like her at all! Agh… Schera says she's the proverbial flower that refuses to blossom. Every girl feels that way. She doesn't want to lecture her, or talk about this if she's not ready, but if she is… then what say we have ourselves some girl talk? Would it help if she told her fortune?

Estelle promises that, okay, she'll listen to whatever Schera has to say. Scherazard, pleased, immediately declares that it's time for her lesson, protege! All right! Oh, Big Sister is moved to tears…! Estelle says that, on second thought… never mind. Thanks, though - she does feel a little better. She's gonna go see Joshua for a little bit. Schera excitedly wonders if she's going to tell him?! Estelle denies it's about that. No, there really does seem to be something weird going on with him, so she wants to see what that's about first.

Schera is disappointed, but figures she does seem to know him better than anyone else, so she's sure that everything will turn out just fine between us! Maybe we can even just have a nice, calm discussion with him and be open about what's on our mind. Estelle is not sure she's quite THAT ready yet. Anyway, she'll see her later! As Estelle leaves, Schera reflects to herself that this is truly young love… Ah, they'll probably be fine…

Estelle makes her way to the other room, but nobody's there - she recalls that, right, Dad's still in some meeting. But where's Joshua? Just then a familiar harmonica tune starts playing, and Estelle notices it immediately. Ah, he's out playing somewhere, then! With that, we're free to wander the castle…

One last trip around the place, before we hit the road... If we go back into the room we just left, Scherazard remarks that hey, isn't that Joshua playing the harmonica? If we can hear it from here, then he must be playing in the Garden Terrace! Now's our chance. Better get up there now, while the situation is just right! Estelle agrees that she'd better… better NOT! This is so not the time for that, Schera! She just says Estelle is no fun. Now's the chance to have some 'alone' time with him. Get to 'know' him a little better…

Zin greets Estelle, and says it seems Master Cassius is still in conference, huh? Estelle agrees it seems that way. Lieutenant Lorence and Captain Amalthea are still on the run, after all, and re-organizing the military chain of command will probably take Dad a good long while… and that's just ONE thing he's gotta deal with! Zin says it's a pity, since he was going to invite him for a drink. He's certain his master will put every effort into catching them, though, and he has complete faith in his abilities!

Still, to think that Lorence was going easy on us during the Martial Arts Competition… If he hadn't been… Estelle admits that when he fought the second time, it was like someone had flipped a switch… except instead of on-off, it was strong-CRAZYstrong. She knows he used to be a jaeger, of course, but are all of them as strong as he is? Zin admits he's experienced, at least, and any soldier with his experience is sure to be quite powerful. But his power… is beyond words. Facing him is like going off to be slaughtered. It's suicide! Anyway, what's that beautiful melody in the air…? It complements the evening's spirits quite nicely…

Tita says that the sound outside is so pretty… who's playing it? Estelle realizes Joshua has never played harmonica for her before, has he? Tita admits she didn't even know he could play the harmonica! He's good! Estelle agrees that he's all right. Tita admits she's too clumsy to play any kind of instrument herself. He's lucky to have that kind of talent! Estelle wonders to himself that if Tita is clumsy, what does that make herself?!

Agate says the music takes him back… He feels as if he heard it back when he was a kid. Estelle recalls that he's originally from Ravennue Village, right? Agate confirms this, and Tita adds that he has a little sister there - her name is Mischa! Agate tells Tita off for saying that, while Estelle just admits her surprise. He's got a sister…? Agate says that yeah, he's got a sister! So what? He isn't brother of the year or anything like that, if that's what we're implying. He pretty much never goes home. But… he guesses maybe when he gets some time he can drop by for a visit.

Professor Russell says he's successfully recovered that 'Gospel' thing Colonel Richard was using. After the investigation of the sealed area is complete and he's returned to Zeiss, he'll have to run a full series of experiments on it. Estelle admits it's weird, she'll give it that. It's like nobody knows where or how it was made… Russell agrees that if we can't determine its true form, we may never learn the meaning of the events that occurred in the sealed area… His academic instincts are tingling just thinking about how important an artifact this truly is!

Estelle says tingling is generally good… but he shouldn't get so wrapped up in it that he lets himself get kidnapped again, okay? Russell promises to take every precaution, and he's even made certain the Gospel itself has been placed in Cassius' care. There's no safer place for it, wouldn't we agree? Estelle agrees that's about the best you're going to get… Russell notes that the pitch of the harmonica he's hearing is incredibly clear… Wonder if they could somehow reproduce it with orbments…?

At the lounge, barman Revol wonders if we're by ourselves today? Olivier stands at the window sipping wine and muse that it's young Joshua's performance he's hearing, is it not? Oh-ho! He heard him playing by the lake, but this… this is not mere playing, it's the weaving of melody; the chisel of a sculptor or brush of a painter! He's been practicing, Olivier surmises. Estelle admits Joshua did play a lot when he was a kid. He played other songs than this one, but this is one he'd always come back to.

Olivier is surprised. Was it now…? It's quite a surprise to hear Joshua play such a delicately beautiful yet obscure song. There are few enough Imperials who yet remember it, much less Liberlians! Estelle is surprised by this - does he mean this is an Erebonian song? Olivier confirms it is - it's called 'The Whereabouts of Light', and it's a very old Erebonian melody. A perennial favorite of the country folk, in fact. Estelle had no idea… Olivier says he must hand it to that boy… Only he could utilize such a sad and delicate melody to melt his heart… instead of shattering it. (Gonna miss ya, dumbass bard...)

Over at the keep, we can find the higher-ups having their little conference - Shea is there cleaning up, and explains that she helped the princess bake some tasty desserts earlier. They are scrumptious indeed! We should try some, please. Head Maid Hilda says that with Her Majesty and the princess reunited, everything feels right again… All in balance. It's all thanks to us - she cannot express her gratitude enough for all that we've done! 1st Lieutenant Schwarz is glad everything went smoothly at the Queen's Birthday Celebration, and promises they won't let another Colonel Richard rise to power again. Between the Royal Guardsmen, General Morgan and Colonel Cassius, they'll make sure to set things right.

Queen Alicia remarks that she's rested long enough - there's so many things she must do… It seems she shall be forced to part with her dearest Klaudia again, as well… Kloe wonders if we'll come to take tea with her? She just finished baking some tasty treats to complement it. Perhaps that will… sweeten the deal? Estelle apologizes, but explains that she's looking for Joshua at the moment. Kloe says that if we find him, we should please bring him as well, and we can all have tea and dessert together! She'll be right here.

Towards the western side of the Garden Terrace we can find Joshua with his harmonica. As Estelle approaches he stops and turns towards her and greets Estelle - nice night, isn't it? Estelle remarks that he's playing that song again - 'The Whereabouts of Light.' Joshua says he's lost a lot, but that song… and this harmonica… have always been with him. He's been thinking about why he plays it. Maybe it's a habit he should quit. He thinks he wants to tell her… what he was doing before he met her. Estelle is shocked, but eventually agrees. Okay.

Joshua says this may take a while. Does she mind…? Estelle promises that she'll listen to whatever he has to say, and Joshua is thankful for that. Joshua is silent for a moment, then turns away from Estelle again, looking out over the lake. Once upon a time, he begins, there lived a little boy, all by himself… He was the timid sort, relying on the kindness of others, without a single redeeming trait. He had people he cared about with him, though, so he was happy.

As the image of a young Joshua playing his harmonica appears, Joshua says that one day, something happened that broke his heart. He forgot how to speak… to feel… even to eat. All he could do was play his harmonica. No matter how hard his caretaker tried, nothing helped his heart to mend, and he grew weaker by the day. One day, a wandering magician appears before the boy. 'I will heal the boy's heart for you,' he said. 'Provided, of course, I am compensated.' And so the boy was given over into the magician's care.

Joshua continues, explaining that as he attempted to piece the boy's broken heart together, the magician found that he could shape the boy's existence into anything he wished. And so the boy's new heart… became that of a murderer. As we see an image of Joshua with bloody swords, we're told that for two years the boy killed every single day. Under cover of night he murdered dozens of soldiers, slit the throats of a national cabinet minister under heavily armed guard. Sometimes he used explosives which maimed and killed innocent bystanders. At some point he became regarded as more than a mere killer… He was known as the 'Black Fang,' and the name struck fear into the hearts of men.

One day, the magician gave the boy an assassination order. His target was a hero - a man who had protected his queen and nation from the threat of an invading northern country. Cassius Bright. A bracer who held a special rank shared only by three others in the entire land. The target was too strong, however. He defeated the boy with all the ease of a tiger swatting at a playful cub. At that moment, some of the magician's servants showed up. Since the boy's face had been seen, he was now a loose end to be tied up. But someone came to his aid and drove the attackers away. It was, of course, the man he had come to kill…

And so the boy… the boy was taken to the man's house, where he met a young girl… He lived there for five years, always feeling like he was lost in some wonderful dream. In the real world he would never be allowed to have such dreams… but all dreams must end at some point. The time was drawing near, when reality could be avoided no longer. And that's… the end of his story. He thanks Estelle for being patient with him and listening.

Estelle hesitates, laughing slightly, and wonders if all that was… real? Joshua confirms every syllable was true. His heart is broken, and his hands will always be stained with blood. He failed in the assassination of her father, and he's been betraying her for a long time… Estelle is shocked, but Joshua just continues, declaring that the boy can't be saved from his real purpose… His presence alone seems to bring disaster and misery… He's just… tainted. But the boy set out on a journey… in hopes that he may keep his misfortunes from the ones he holds dear. He'll find and stop the foul magician who created the life he has led.

Joshua walks forward and puts his harmonica in Estelle's hands, and declares that's the last remnant of his human heart… He won't be needing it anymore, but he wants her to take it. It's hardly an adequate way for him to thank her for the last five years… but he can't think of anything better.

Estelle pauses for a moment, then angrily tells him to stop it! She said STOP IT! Stop talking about it like it's a dream…! He makes it sound like nothing that's happened was even real to him! What difference does the past make?! His heart is broken? What does that even mean? When Joshua looks away, Estelle tells him to look at her! Look into her eyes! They've ALWAYS seen that boy! In good time and bad. No matter how much that boy was hurting… she always saw how hard he'd keep holding on! SHE LOVES HIM! Joshua, wide-eyed, takes in her confession and Estelle tells him he can't just leave her on her own! Her feelings won't just go away when he does! She won't let him!

Joshua steps forward and straight-up kisses Estelle, much to her shock. Huh…? For a moment she just takes it in, then takes a step back - what was that?! It's so bitter… Joshua admits that it's a fast-acting sedative, that's all. She shouldn't worry, there's no side effects. As Estelle begins to wobble on her feet and falls to her knees, she asks why? Why did he…? Joshua just says that his Estelle shines like the sun. His time with her was the happiest…and the most painful… he's ever known. Just as the brightest light casts the darkest shadow… if she'd stayed with him, she'd find out just how disgusting his true nature is. Sometimes, he thinks it would have been better if they'd never met…

Estelle protests, and Joshua agrees that this time is different. He's grateful that she came to see him. He hates that he has to run from a girl who's so important to him, but it's all he can do… but he wants her to know that he'll always be thinking of her. Thank you. Thank you for everything, Estelle. She had him from the first moment he met her. He's always loved her. Goodbye, Estelle.

We fade out...

We end on an anime cutscene depicting the clear blue skies, an orbment, and then Joshua walking through fields of reed, while Estelle sits at home and looks into a book of pictures from their shared childhoods, which depict various moments of their early history. Estelle stands at Joshua's bedside shortly after he is brought home, then we see her fish while a dead-eyed Joshua watches from the background. Estelle then pushes him to help Schera with chores, and even assists with the cooking. Judging by the pot boiling over, she's not doing this all too well.

The next picture depicts Estelle falling asleep in school while Joshua watches on attentively, and after that we see Cassius looking over Estelle and Joshua training with wooden weapons next to the poles in their backyard. The next image depicts Estelle and Joshua alongside some other friends in Rolent Village, and Cassius looking at a picture of his late wife, one hand on his bracer emblem. The final picture depicts the start of the game - Estelle looking out into the sky while Joshua plays the harmonica next to the door where we first ran into him.

The book of memories closes, and we see Estelle holding the harmonica, running her fingers along it. Then we see her pick up a full backpack and slings it onto her back as she makes it outside into the light, ready for another journey, ready for action.

As the camera pans up to reveal trails in the sky, we read the title of the game: 'Fin.'

...

(We are then prompted to save our Clear Data, which basically means we can use it for a New Game+ to carry stuff over to a new game, or potentially into the sequel, since that can import some stuff too. I'll save that for the inevitable SC playthrough, of course.)

Instead of ending there, we get a little preview video afterwards. We see a large red airship sails through the lightning-riddled clouds. 'The skies show no mercy.' As we see the familiar shape of the Arseille plummet down while on fire, we read: 'They see and engulf all.' We descend through the clouds. 'And the gears of fate continue to turn…' As we see a trail in the sky leading down through those clouds, we're promised a second chapter…

'Leaving his harmonica with Estelle, Joshua vanishes into the fading light. Estelle sets out on a new journey… to bring him home. But the faint tolling of a distant bell indicates the dawn of a new era. A time of conspiracy… and calamity…' Flashes of a fortress in a lightning storm appear, and a spinning Gospel in which we can see the reflection of one of the tetracyclic towers spewing energy from its top, like the newspaper mentioned. Images of other ancient structures activating follow, and mist-riddled forests, and some enormous structure looming in the distance. As the structure disintegrates into small parts, we see a huge and conspicuously dragon-shaped beast take to the skies... (Yay!)

We switch to images of flowers in grass, mixed in with military fortifications and tanks that run roughshod over them. We're told: 'More trials await the men and women of Liberl Kingdom.' Then, for a split second, we see a humongous white airship of some sort breaching through the clouds, obscured almost immediately by a declaration of 'New Journeys.' As concept art flashes across the screen, we're also promised 'Special' characters, peculiar artifacts, and one epic adventure...

As we once again watch a (much smaller) airship sail through the sky, we get more narration: 'Reaching, grasping for that familiar melody… Marching ever onward…' As the huge red airship from the start of the video emerges from the clouds and chases down the smaller one, it continues: 'Plotting out the trails of destiny once more…' There's a flash of Lorence staring into the reflection of his blade, followed by tanks falling through a collapsing bridge, and a shining light behind a grinning face - definitely Weissmann. Water flashes by until the camera pans up to the trails in the sky… and that's where we end.

Hell of a teaser for the next game, eh?

Some last minute musings. One thing is that there is this image of two boys following this shadowy 'magician' out of a door, right? It flashes up when we meet Weissmann in the rest area, and again when Joshua is recounting his history. One of those boys is clearly Joshua, identifiable by his hair - but the other also has a familiar hairstyle. Lorence, is that you…? I think it is. I can't be sure, but he might be something of a brother figure to Joshua, hence Joshua running off to try and find him in Ruan... I have my suspicions as to his real name too, since Joshua did drop a name that doesn't refer to anyone we know back in that conversation with Weissmann: 'Loewe.'

Anyway, there's more pieces to this puzzle - Joshua picked up that lovely tune he's always playing from rural parts of the Empire, so that's probably where he's originally from. This is supported by some dialogue from earlier in the game, when Joshua was rather cagey about the Empire. Agate overheard the same melody being played from Ravennue Village, which is conveniently near the border with the Empire, and conspicuously close to the rural Imperial village of Hamel. The same village which seems to play into Lorence's backstory. The same Lorence who is depicted here alongside Joshua. He is from Hamel too, isn't he…? The magician, then, must be 'Alba' - Weissmann.

We get a few more terms tossed out - something about the seven Snake Apostles, the Anguis, and the 'Ouroboros' which seems to be the name of the evil shadow organization behind everything. I assume this is the secret group that supplied Richard with the Gospel and all the other stuff he needed along the way, while Weissmann was mind-controlling people (including Joshua?) and wiping their memories of his involvement. One wonders whether that means the Gospel came into our hands intentionally to set up what happened, and why 'Alba' didn't just wipe our awareness of him out of our minds along the way?

Also, I totally called it. Professor Alba was shady from the start, and while I had no real idea what the hell kind of role he was playing in any of this, never mind his involvement with the memory wipes, I suspect his claim to Estelle that he made some great strides in his archaeology is probably just straight up true. Doesn't qualifying the unearthing of the Sealed Area and breaking whatever was there count…? It seems like the towers he was so interested in throughout the game are now actively doing stuff, and he claims the first phase of the plan was a complete success. Our 'victory' in the Sealed Area might not have been quite that. Bothersome…

This ending is very effective in baiting you to immediately start the sequel - not only does it set up a whole bunch of new mysteries expanding on old ones, and introduce a new big bad in Weissmann in the last ten minutes of the game, but we find one of our main characters was secretly a minion of the bad guys all along, and he's mow missing! Great hook. The teaser adds the promise of a whole bunch more airship drama, but it also neatly frames Lorence and Weissmann as familiar problems we'll have to face - and now it makes sense why this rando professor had a portrait and recurring appearances throughout. (Will Dorothy be evil next…?)

On the whole, Trails in the Sky FC was riveting, and a lot better than I honestly expected. You kinda have to hedge your bets with anime JRPGs, you know? This one sidesteps some of the more hackneyed tropes in places, while playing them entirely straight in others, but it still comes off as a lot more alive and interactive than most of these games, since you get a pretty good sense that every random NPC has things going on, many of which don't relate to what our needs are in that moment. Plenty of good side characters around, too, though I think Amalthea could have used some more stuff to do besides being smarmy and going down very easily the moment she gets into combat. Don't mess that up, sequels…

As for negatives, I still don't care for the framing of the Joshua and Estelle relationship, since it can't stop calling on the sibling relationship even while romantic beats are playing out and every tertiary character prods the two together. If they'd just stuck with Joshua as Cassius' ward from the start, I wouldn't have had much to say. I guess it's a Japanese quirk of some kind because it comes up in a bunch of anime and manga?

Something I also didn't care for was how some of our party members honestly didn't get nearly as many chances to shine compared to others. Schera gets early screentime, but then vanishes for most of the rest of the game, only returning for the finale. Agate is present a bunch in several arcs, but keeps flitting in and out of the story without really sticking around for very long at any point. Olivier and Kloe also got a fair bit of characterization during their relatively short stays, but Tita gets the short end of the stick there, and so does Zin, honestly... I guess the idea was that they'd be closer to the end, so fresher in our minds? I feel like this could all be resolved if the sequel reintroduces these people early and keeps them around instead of constantly replacing them.

In terms of the five regions in this game, I still think Bose is the best all-in-one package zone, and Ruan takes the last spot on account of being… mostly just kind of a sidestory? Well, that's harsh. Yeah, some stuff happens there, but everything regarding Kloe, her school, the orphanage, and the mayor's weird land redevelopment plot is mostly unrelated to the larger narrative. Even the revelation that the mayor was being mind-whammied doesn't really change that, since we already saw that exact plot beat in Bose with the sky bandits. Maybe if they had spent more time introducing the Royal Guard? They really only came in at the end for one scene. It has some fantastic highs, of course, but there you go…

The other three zones are harder to rank. Rolent has the upsides and downsides of being the tutorial zone - the tasks there are incredibly simple in terms of both scope and difficulty, and it serves as a prologue, which means no real plot movement is happening yet beyond the very basic, initial premise. It's got a nice chill vibe to it, but Bose definitely is a step up in that regard. Zeiss, meanwhile, suffers from success in a way - the main plot is good, but it sort of dominates the entire zone, so the side-stuff like the hot springs village or the weird book sidequests or whatnot sort of fall by the wayside. Tita is also just… sort of there? If it wasn't so vital to the overall plot, this might go below Ruan.

Grancel, then, is by far the largest zone in terms of content, if not scale. It is kind of silly how much the amount of ambient dialogue is dialed up in this chapter, and I'm not sure it's entirely necessary - distinct dialogue for both day and night for every day of the tournament, really? I guess this game took its time with the premise rather than just running you through a series of quick battles and calling it a day, but I think I had like thirteen or so full exploration rounds of that place? At least it meant there were plenty of weird little disaster families to check up on…

I'll have to let this one sit for a while before I can objectively rank it, to compare it to other RPGs I've finished. This one has recency bias, of course - and that ending is gonna taunt me until I get around to SC. I'd rank it above Wild Arms, but that's mostly because this is just more… modern? It's the oldest of the Trails franchise, sure, but it's got a lot of the quality of life features already, and even if the graphics are dated, the design is still great. This game manages to put a lot more heart into conversations with a well-chosen portrait image than many games with full CG cutscenes.

Wherever I end up sorting this one, it's up high - and I'm gonna be trying out the other games in this franchise, that's for sure. Even if I don't end up doing a full LP on those, because damn this got enormous, I'm really digging the vibes here. I'm told SC is better than this one, so gotta look forward to that…

So.

What's next for me…?

Well, I'm not diving straight into SC - I considered it, but it's signing up for another 100 or so updates, I imagine, and I'd prefer another more… mid-sized offering in between. Of course, that probably means I'll still play something really long, but most things don't have Trails levels of dialogue going on, so they might be a bit snappier to get through. You know, aim for 50 updates instead of 100? Heh. In case anyone's keeping track, this LP rounds out to just about exactly half a million words. Nuts.

…I honestly love the genre more now than before I started this game. See you guys later. Probably sooner than is healthy, If I'm being honest, I do tend to get stuck in.

WestOrEast · Sunday at 9:44 PM

In something of a rarity for me, I didn't actually have a problem with Estelle's and Joshua's romance. Not sure why, exactly. Possibly that the game is from Estelle's POV (a novel and good rarity in itself!) and that she is such an honest and earnest character, with a healthy serving of good humor. Can't see a sign of 'oh, big bro, hentai baka~!' that you would normally get in anime not-quite incest.

Looking forward to whatever's next for you as well as Estelle's quest to get Joshua and herself into matching wedding dresses.

Alectai · Sunday at 9:52 PM

So yeah, that's the Kiseki series in a nutshell. While it was the first one, Trails set the formula that the rest of them all follow, and while there's certainly ups and downs, it absolutely keeps people guessing, even as the worldbuilding grows further and further to the point where a dedicated Kiseki Lore Nerd could probably earn actual money trying to sort that shit out

Alcor · Sunday at 9:52 PM

Roarian said:
and that ending is gonna taunt me until I get around to SC.

for the authentic experience you have to spend 4 years with it unclear if SC will ever be translated and whether you might just have to live with that cliffhanger.

That was a rough time, and I only had to experience about 2 of those years of uncertainty back in the PSP days before the game even had Steam ports!

Nerdorama · Sunday at 10:41 PM

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX6xpVVNF2o

Okay okay, last one, just because it's a hell of a credits theme after that last scene, and the interweaving of the melody through Joshua and Estelle scenes throughout the game.

Anyway, yeah. This is the part where I broke down sobbing for reasons both artistic and personal. Just...everything about Joshua's story hits very personally if you've ever been or loved someone who was taken advantage of during a traumatic childhood. You've pieced enough together (and gotten enough out of that Revolutionary Girl Utena-ass flashback) that I can say without spoiling things that the 'magician' Weissman is perhaps one of the most vile antagonists in fiction, and Joshua is the product of his extremely focused attentions. Watching that all come back just in time to tear a happy ending away from the main couple at the very end of the game? Yeeeesh. Anyway though, some dedicated commentary from me this time....

Roarian said:
Joshua steps forward and straight-up kisses Estelle, much to her shock. Huh…? For a moment she just takes it in, then takes a step back - what was that?! It's so bitter… Joshua admits that it's a fast-acting sedative, that's all. She shouldn't worry, there's no side effects. As Estelle begins to wobble on her feet and falls to her knees, she asks why? Why did he…? Joshua just says that his Estelle shines like the sun. His time with her was the happiest…and the most painful… he's ever known. Just as the brightest light casts the darkest shadow… if she'd stayed with him, she'd find out just how disgusting his true nature is. Sometimes, he thinks it would have been better if they'd never met…

Estelle protests, and Joshua agrees that this time is different. He's grateful that she came to see him. He hates that he has to run from a girl who's so important to him, but it's all he can do… but he wants her to know that he'll always be thinking of her. Thank you. Thank you for everything, Estelle. She had him from the first moment he met her. He's always loved her. Goodbye, Estelle.

As gut-wrenching as this is, I always like that it caps off the way that Trails in the Sky FC plays with gender roles. It's seen to greatest effect when they just do a straight up crossplay play in Ruan, but really the dynamic between Estelle and Joshua throughout the game is almost an entire gender inversion of the shounen archetype of the typical Meathead Protagonist and the more down-to-earth, responsible love interest (although Joshua goes for the second most typical JRPG Leading Girl Archetype by being a roguish fighter instead of a healbot). We finally see that come to fruition here by seeing Joshua isn't just any old love interest - he's been a femme fatale (homme fatal?) all along. Trails definitely gets less, let's say, daring with gender politics in later games, but I wanted to give props to Sky FC for following through to the very end here.

Roarian said:
We end on an anime cutscene depicting the clear blue skies, an orbment, and then Joshua walking through fields of reed, while Estelle sits at home and looks into a book of pictures from their shared childhoods, which depict various moments of their early history. Estelle stands at Joshua's bedside shortly after he is brought home, then we see her fish while a dead-eyed Joshua watches from the background. Estelle then pushes him to help Schera with chores, and even assists with the cooking. Judging by the pot boiling over, she's not doing this all too well.

I seem to recall something about her setting the curtains on fire, based on a side conversation...not sure if that was early in this game or a flashback in SC, though.

Fun fact, though, the next game has cooking mechanics, and there's no chance of explosion when using them, so presumably she's been training those skills up alongside the stick usage.

Roarian said:
Also, I totally called it. Professor Alba was shady from the start, and while I had no real idea what the hell kind of role he was playing in any of this, never mind his involvement with the memory wipes, I suspect his claim to Estelle that he made some great strides in his archaeology is probably just straight up true. Doesn't qualifying the unearthing of the Sealed Area and breaking whatever was there count…? It seems like the towers he was so interested in throughout the game are now actively doing stuff, and he claims the first phase of the plan was a complete success. Our 'victory' in the Sealed Area might not have been quite that. Bothersome…

I'll continue my policy of not confirming or denying most of your suppositions here but I have to admit you have basically a 100% track record so far. On the subject of the heroes "victory" or lack thereof, well, the best villainous plot is always the one where the heroes do the hard work for you, isn't it? Whether that hero was national savior Richard, love and justice do-gooders Estelle and Company, or both, does it matter?

(It matters if you're a sadist who thinks he's funny.)

Roarian said:
(Will Dorothy be evil next…?)

You've stumbled upon one of my top two theories for the identity of the "Grandmaster". I'm only kind of joking.

Although I will say that quirky journalists with portraits and plot involvement are a recurring theme in the series.

Roarian said:
On the whole, Trails in the Sky FC was riveting, and a lot better than I honestly expected. You kinda have to hedge your bets with anime JRPGs, you know? This one sidesteps some of the more hackneyed tropes in places, while playing them entirely straight in others, but it still comes off as a lot more alive and interactive than most of these games, since you get a pretty good sense that every random NPC has things going on, many of which don't relate to what our needs are in that moment. Plenty of good side characters around, too, though I think Amalthea could have used some more stuff to do besides being smarmy and going down very easily the moment she gets into combat. Don't mess that up, sequels…

The second and third games in Sky are very good at fleshing out a lot of the antagonists that cropped up in this game (and those games). Whether Amalthea is one of them...well, she does have a big role in my favorite non-finale chapter in SC, at least. I already gave my thoughts on why the overwhelming number of fleshed-out background characters is one of the game's biggest thematic strengths, but it's also definitely a compelling example of what makes Trails stand out from the pack. Only other RPG I've seen really come close (other than indie games with much smaller casts, like Toby Fox's ouvre) is the Final Fantasy VII Remake, and that's mostly to make a certain event late in the first game more gut-wrenching...

Roarian said:
As for negatives, I still don't care for the framing of the Joshua and Estelle relationship, since it can't stop calling on the sibling relationship even while romantic beats are playing out and every tertiary character prods the two together. If they'd just stuck with Joshua as Cassius' ward from the start, I wouldn't have had much to say. I guess it's a Japanese quirk of some kind because it comes up in a bunch of anime and manga?

There's definitely historical context here that I brought up when discussing Cold Steel - a typical practice in the era of samurai (and in their modern class successors of Japanese capitalists) was for a family with only daughters standing to inherit to adopt a man into their family legally while also marrying them to one of those daughters, ensuring both a continuity of blood and patrilineal legality. I believe this is the cultural basis for this whole not-blood-siblings recurring shenanigan, although it obviously played out completely differently historically from how it's presented here with two cohabitating teenagers falling in love on their own. It certainly is something that's more acceptable in a Japanese context than the "absolutely fucking not" that is instinctive in a USian one.

But seriously just call him your ward you psychotic moustache man.

Roarian said:
Something I also didn't care for was how some of our party members honestly didn't get nearly as many chances to shine compared to others. Schera gets early screentime, but then vanishes for most of the rest of the game, only returning for the finale. Agate is present a bunch in several arcs, but keeps flitting in and out of the story without really sticking around for very long at any point. Olivier and Kloe also got a fair bit of characterization during their relatively short stays, but Tita gets the short end of the stick there, and so does Zin, honestly... I guess the idea was that they'd be closer to the end, so fresher in our minds? I feel like this could all be resolved if the sequel reintroduces these people early and keeps them around instead of constantly replacing them.

I can at least promise that the sequel spends a lot more time fleshing out your main party members, and for that matter that most of the following arcs after Sky mostly dispense with the whole rotating cast deal and just dump the core party on you instantly in the prologue. The constant swapping guest stars here were an interesting conceit but it really wasn't the best idea long-term for this style of game. I definitely think you also run into the issue here of Sky FC and SC originally being planned as one game before being split into two more reasonably-sized halves - everyone's got the back half of their character arc shelved for the next game, and characters like Tita, Zin, and arguably even Agate get much more interesting once you're past a turning point that hasn't happened yet.

Roarian said:
In terms of the five regions in this game, I still think Bose is the best all-in-one package zone, and Ruan takes the last spot on account of being… mostly just kind of a sidestory? Well, that's harsh. Yeah, some stuff happens there, but everything regarding Kloe, her school, the orphanage, and the mayor's weird land redevelopment plot is mostly unrelated to the larger narrative. Even the revelation that the mayor was being mind-whammied doesn't really change that, since we already saw that exact plot beat in Bose with the sky bandits. Maybe if they had spent more time introducing the Royal Guard? They really only came in at the end for one scene. It has some fantastic highs, of course, but there you go…

Ruan is the first example in a long series in trails of "chapter that kind of drags on to lead up to a big worldbuilding chunk that's completely irrelevant to everything except showing off the world of Zemurian arts and humanities". This happens surprisingly often. At least the Arc-en-Ciel performance in Zero introduces Yin...

Roarian said:
…I honestly love the genre more now than before I started this game. See you guys later. Probably sooner than is healthy, If I'm being honest, I do tend to get stuck in.

And that, in the end, is the highest compliment any of us can give a game, I think.

All in all, really glad you enjoyed this game and really glad I read the LP. Looking forward to your next endry, and seeing your eventual takes on the sequel, where the trails are, in fact, in the sky instead of underground. I knew it was gonna end on a cliffhanger as soon as the final boss was in the wrong altitude...

Roarian · Tuesday at 9:07 PM

Hey, you know what I should do, I said? Intersperse a long game with a shorter one! Yeah! So let's... do a...

How many discs is this? HowLongToBeat says its longer? That can't be right. Right?

...Well, at least it's less dense on the text, so that should make it a bit more breezy to cover in LP form, at least. The time playing wasn't the bottleneck with Trails!

It's shorter, right?

Oh dear.

I have fond memories of playing this in the late 90's. And then never again. Beyond a vague concept that I never got past the first disc for one reason or another, possibly because I borrowed it and returned it before I got very far in, I basically remember none of this beyond a few moments. Notably, that does include what I think is a fairly significant twist relatively early on in the game. Beyond that... no idea. Saw a forum post about a new mod, of sorts, for this game - and before you know it I was two hours in and making LP plans. Like a day after I told myself I'd take a week off and do a Doctor Doom update or something instead.

I have no impulse control, clearly.

The Legend of Dragoon is an RPG developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation (1). It was released in December 1999 in Japan, June 2000 in North America, and January 2001 in Europe. Set in a world called Endiness, the game follows a group of warriors led by the protagonist, Dart, as they attempt to stop the destruction of the world... As usual. Notably, this game includes a quick time event called an 'addition' during many attacks, requiring the player to press a button when two squares converge to do significant damage.

Development began in 1996 and took three years with a production team of over one hundred, and cost $16 million, notably high for the time. The game's use of realistic CGI cutscenes drew attention from the press, though the game received mixed reviews, with critics comparing it unfavorably to the Final Fantasy series. Despite that, it has received a cult following over time, and sold more than one million copies worldwide, with most of those sales coming from North America. It was declared, at one point, an alleged 'FF7 Killer' and apparently had a killer marketing team, though some would say it ripped off a lot of the things Final Fantasy was doing without really innovating. I'd be interested to find out how true that is...

I'm not playing a fully vanilla game here, just to let you know. One of the more significant flaws of the original game is its rather atrocious localization, with plenty of stilted dialogue and crappy spelling and grammar, an issue which affects a lot of old JRPGs of its era - even the really expensive and popular ones. A script mod was released relatively recently which cleans up a lot of the dialogue and removes terribly stilted or out-of-place language, so I'm using that to make things a little smoother for myself. At least I'll be able to understand what people mean now, since it makes a lot of the dialogue more coherent! It keeps a lot of the questionable names from the original game, so not all of the jankiness is gone, but it's something!

Introduction

Before the title screen even appears, the game opens with a cinematic of some kind of mural or inscription on stone, quickly followed by a barrage of some alien script that seems vaguely Arabic in design. We see images of armies in the background, and an engrish opening statement manifests in bits and pieces in the middle of the screen: 'When the clash of swords echo, the journey chasing the past ends and the journey to know today begins.' A definitely not Cloud Strife-like blond guy in a red bandana, presumably our player character, stares at us as the title of the game appears. It's stylized with a curved flaming sword as part of its design, which is pretty neat.

The music ramps up as we hear a woman sing: 'I had a dream that I could fly… I can feel each moment as time goes by... We'd never be too far away. You would always be here, I heard you say... I never thought, thought that it would be our last goodbye. I still can dream that one day love will come out from the sky…'

While that music plays, images from the game flash by amid all the weird magic letters, and yet more english text appears: 'One soul seeks another and pledges their sworn friendship to another. One mystery begets the next and the doors of fate are opened.' Crumbling buildings, giant dragons and enormous explosions flash across the screen next, with crystals, chains, and whole towns shattering everywhere while strange fleshy pods dangle into view. As we see the dragonfly-like wings of some huge creature open and the song fades out, a final quoted phrase in black flashes onto the screen:

"You are free to sever the chains of fate that bind you…."

We're left on the opening screen, where a mysterious mural with a single glowing green spot forms the backdrop for the title in blazing fiery yellows and reds: The Legend of Dragoon.

The actual opening of the game is another CG cutscene - this time opens on a village in complete darkness, deep in the night. After a few seconds a mote of fire passes by - and then more. They're fireballs! As several more flaming spheres land in town, fire starts to spread and in moments the whole place is an inferno. Well, looks like we're getting our hometown burned with efficiency this time! Soldiers on the backs of vaguely horse-like monsters rush through the streets, smashing everything in their way to smithereens as they spread more destruction while civilians flee from the violence.

We see soldiers armed with maces and other medieval weapons rush by on their mounts, chasing off small animals and people alike. The windows on a large tower blow out and smoke billows out, and we pass by more scenes of destruction - we see the smashed statues of robed women, a broken flower pot, a cracked fountain pouring water all over the street. In the background, soldiers keep rushing by in the firelight, barely in focus. We zoom out to reveal the town at large ablaze, a tall church-like structure highlighted as its spires loom in front of the distant greenish moon, wreathed in smoke.

More soldiers rush by, but one among them has a distinctive cloak which catches the eye. As smoke briefly covers our vision, we return to find the cloaked man slowing to a stop in front of a few soldiers holding torches. He dismounts from his 'horse' and is addressed as 'Great Commander' by the men and led along, with a couple of torch-wielding soldiers forming an honor guard. This guy is in full armor, by the way, with two feather-like protrusions on his helmet. They stop next to an unconscious brown-haired girl on the ground, and the armored man kneels. 'So, this is her…' he remarks.

The commander holds out his hand and one of the soldiers quickly gives him some materia - or a shiny sphere, at any rate. He maneuvers the girl so he can hold it directly in front of her forehead, and as we get more shots of the moon, some kind of magical reaction takes place - motes of energy start coalescing, and then a beam shoots out of her forehead and into the sphere, lighting it up. The commander removes the sphere and concludes that, indeed, this is the one they came for. He tells the men to put her in custody, then does a dramatic twirl with his cape before marching off.

Moments later we find him along with a guy in more classical magical robes, and he asks if this is really necessary…? The mage says it is His Majesty, Emperor Doel's command to take that girl into custody. Who is she, the commander asks? The mage just answers that's not his concern. With their job finished the soldiers mount up again and rush out of town, leaving it a smouldering mess behind them…

Meanwhile, elsewhere, we look over a verdant forest overgrowing tall hills, and spot a woman in purple-and-yellow armor looking out over the area from a vantage point on a rock formation. Curiously she's only got armor on one of her legs. She must get cold… Anyway, as she looks over the forest we hear a distant cry, and an enormous insect-monster breaches the canopy and roars as it waves its long segmented limbs. 'The Green Tusked Dragon, Feyrbrand,' the woman muses to herself.

She then flings herself off the cliff, bounding from rock to rock to get down towards the forest floor in the direction of the, uh, insectoid dragon…?

Chapter 1 - Serdian War

Seles - Our Village Burns Down, Obviously

Somewhere deep in the forest we watch light spilling down from the branches, illuminating a blond man in red armor that's hanging out on a rock. He's missing his armor on one arm - I guess he and the girl from before go to the same tailor? The guy is busy reading a letter, and muses to himself that apparently war is on the horizon… He hopes it's just another false alarm. Got bad news, son… He suddenly hears noise from the distance and quickly stands up in confusion, before rushing off to check out what's happening.

We soon discover that the noise is being caused by the mounted troops from the introduction rushing down one of the nearby forest paths. As one group of them passes, our red-armored hero arrives and watches them go, only to be surprised by the arrival of yet another contingent of soldiers. They stop dead as they spot the man in red in the street and demand to know if he is one of Basil's mercenaries?! Answer, now! Since they're poking at him with spears, our intrepid hero quickly draws his sword in response, much to the soldiers' shock. He dares to draw steel against them?!

The altercation is interrupted by the arrival of a rather… out-of-context problem, since a gigantic monstrous foot suddenly sets down right next to the group, and that chases off the soldiers in a hurry. The red-armored man squares off with the enormous monster that suddenly fills the screen - it's Feyrbrand the Dragon, of course, but this time the beast is a lot closer than before, and even more alien than it already seemed. It's got a bunch of insectoid legs, multiple mandibles that are presumably the 'tusks' in its description, and a huge mouth. Our hero is baffled - what the heck is this thing?!

After narrowly dodging an attack from the creature, our hero concludes he's gotta do something or he's dead for sure! What a monster! After dodging another blow he sets off running, holding off the monster as it chases him, but only just - he can't even get a proper hit in. As he dodges falling trees and enemy hits, he only barely manages to gets away. Urgh!

As we book it, the woman in armor that we saw before rushes in and grabs our hero, dragging him out of harm's way by quickly hiding behind a nearby rock and shushing him when he asks who she is?! Feyrbrand takes a few moments to try and seek out its prey, smacking its huge head into the nearby cliff and knocking some rocks loose, but it eventually backs away and disappears from view. The armored man sighs in relief and thanks the woman for the rescue. What the hell even was that thing?! The woman explains that it was a Dragon. And our hero is clearly baffled by this. Dragon?!

The woman, meanwhile, muses to herself that it's strange, though… That village could have easily been destroyed without a Dragon… The armored man, confused, repeats that line about 'the village'... Wait, is she talking about Seles!? Then those soldiers were…? Oh no! Our hero makes to leave, but the woman just tells him there won't be anything left by now. Our hero snaps that Seles is his village! With that, he sets off running again.

After he runs off, we linger with the woman for a moment, and she suddenly starts shining with light - or more specifically, something she's carrying with her starts to glow red. What…?! She wonders to herself if he could be…? No, there's no way…! (Are we a special child of destiny? Probably.) Our hero rushes out onto the edge of a cliff to look down towards his hometown of Seles, and he finally gets his name - he is Dart! My god, he mouths, as he beholds the flaming wreckage of his hometown. What have they done…!?

He careens down the slopes, slipping and sliding closer to town all the way, until we finally get control of our main character halfway down that slope. Dart starts at level 1, of course, and comes equipped with some leather gear and a broadsword. He also has the addition 'Double Slash' already - I'll get into what that means in a minute.

As we approach town there's a little pop-up [!] next to the fence, which means we can interact. Doing so launches us across said fence and straight into another cutscene. A couple of soldiers are terrorizing a surviving villager, who asks if the bastards haven't had enough killing yet?! One of these soldiers of 'Imperial Sandora' chuckles and says that maybe if he kills the villager, it'll be enough…! He goes over to kick the man while he's already down, but Dart can't bear to watch any longer. 'Stop!'

The soldiers quickly conclude Dart is a mercenary… but isn't it a little late for him to show up? Dart tells him to shut up, and demands to know what they're doing here?! The soldier sarcastically wonders what it looks like? They're occupying this area, and they're putting these worms in their proper place! Dart is affronted, and demands to know if they were sent here by the Emperor? The soldier answers that even if they were, it's not like it matters to a mercenary like us! We're dead already! With that, he attacks…

The battle system in this game is pretty classic for a JRPG - it's got a similar style to Final Fantasy or Wild Arms, with our party lining up and facing off against the enemy in a similar formation, while a little menu pops up so we can pick what we're going to do. One of the main differences with those other games becomes clear quite quickly, though - every normal attack that we do has a Quick Time Event attached, which turns it from a pretty pathetic slap into a proper attack. Just hitting this guy deals only 2 or 3 damage, but if we complete the rhythm-game style button prompt game, we perform a 'Double Slash' and do double damage. Suffice to say that regularly hitting the prompts is a must…

After handily defeating these soldiers, one survivor rushes off in a panic. Dart lets him go and makes his way over towards the villager the soldiers were harassing, but the man is clearly bleeding out from his wounds. Haltingly he wonders if it's really… Dart? We confirm it's us, and we ask why Seles is under attack?! The villager explains that Sandora soldiers suddenly attacked and destroyed everything! We ask what happened to the truce, but the villager doesn't know. He never imagined they would attack a village like this… It doesn't add up! Dart wishes he'd come back sooner, so he could have made a difference. The villager tells him there is something he can do - that he has to do. Shana! He has to rescue her, only he can…

The man finally keels over and dies, but a furious Dart demands to know what this is about Shana? Hey! Wait…! The man is gone, though, so we slowly stand up. Beating ourselves up over not coming earlier, we check on another nearby body to confirm it's also a corpse, then loot a Burn Out item from a nearby chest - this is a fire-type attack item, basically a grenade which works better for characters with high magic stats. We apologize to the dead for not being there sooner, then wander off to the west, towards the center of town.

We quickly spot another person on the floor in a puddle of blood - and Dart recognizes him as Plos! We rush over and tell the man to hang on, then help him over towards a nearby destroyed building so he can sit down against its walls to recover. As he comes to, Plos wonders if that's really Dart's voice he just heard? We just take a moment to look over the man's wounds, and conclude they're light. He got lucky. Plos guesses he did, but look at this village! If only Dart had come back earlier… It's about Shana, too. She was taken away, and it seems that she was the soldiers' primary purpose here. We ask the man if he knows where the soldiers went, but he admits he doesn't really know…

Before we can ask anything else, though, an armored soldier in silver and red rushes in from off-screen - he's got the same armor design as the man from the opening cinematic, just differently hued. Intent on making this guy talk, Dart raises his sword to face him. The Sandora Captain stops in front of us, joined by two subordinate soldiers, and remarks that besting a private like we did earlier is no reason to get cocky. It seems he was tipped off by the guy who fled!

We demand to know where Shana was taken, and the Captain tells us not to worry about her - she must be enjoying the luxuries of Hellena Prison right about now. Surprised, huh? This whole operation was simply an elaborate invitation! Dart is in disbelief - they destroyed the village just to kidnap Shana!? He can't be serious! The Captain says we're correct about this summation. Not to worry, though, we'll soon follow Shana… Not to Hellena, of course, but to Hell!

[Boss: Sandora Captain, Knight of Sandora*2]

Since this is the very first 'boss battle' and there's only one character we're controlling this is piss-easy, as you might expect. Double Slash is effective in dealing damage, but we've got a small stash of health potions to keep ourselves topped up in case the enemy gets too many hits in. Taking out the two random soldiers is easy - they each go down to one Double Slash, after which it's a matter of burning down the captain. This guy remarks 'That's awfully cheeky of you!' during battle, but I'm not sure what that's in response to. He can use 'Power Up' which increases his attack and defense, and can occasionally toss out a Burn Out which hurts more than his melee blows do.

After winning this tutorial fight we level up, and as a bonus we get a new addition - 'Volcano.' Essentially this serves as another combo similar to Double Slash, but instead of only one button press, you have to time three of them in a row. That said, in return for the higher difficulty this attack's maximum damage is also substantially higher, so if you can get the timing right, that's pretty sweet. Consistently hitting the combo is just free damage, really.

With the captain out of the picture we return to Plos' side, and he concludes Dart is going to go rescue Shana, isn't he? He won't stop us, but we should be careful. Wouldn't wanna die before we can get revenge, right? We warily agree. Plos tells us not to worry about Seles, since there should be enough of the people left who can still move. We thank him, then turn to leave - before that, though, we promise that after all this is over, we'll be back. With Shana. Plos just assures us that the people here can take care of the village, and we should just focus on Shana and ourselves!

If we enter the nearby house a couple of kids rush out, screaming 'Die, Imperial dog! This is for my mom!' We ward them off and tell them it's us, it's Dart! As the two pause in surprise, we observe that the two have really grown up. The girl, Isha, is happy to see Dart, and informs him that Sandora is here, and they got everybody… We reply that we 'got' them right back, so everything is okay now. The other kid, Lowe, mutters that everyone is dead. We correct that - not everybody was killed. There are still people who need his help. We're going to rescue Shana, meanwhile. Plos agrees that we should all do what we can. Isha just promises she'll get the plants that mom showed her and Lowe agrees. The two of them will take care of everyone, don't worry!

Across the blasted courtyard we find a well, and an injured man nearby says it was a nightmare… The fires scorched the entire village to the ground. Many tried to flee the village, and some of them were cut down. He doesn't know how many escaped, though. In the back of the village there's a small graveyard, where Dart prays for everyone… Inspecting one of the graves nets us an item, though, and it's a special one - it's Stardust. This is a collectible, and there's a whole lot of them scattered throughout the game. You can get some reward for collecting arbitrary amounts of them, I believe? There's guides online which tell you how many are in each town, so I'll try not to miss them if I can help it. Carnelia, here we go again…

A guy wandering the eastern road is rather disgusted by us - look who decided to finally show up! How shameless can we be…? Unlike us, he stayed by Shana's side, and yet… Ugh, forget it. Dart should have come back sooner! Shana deserves better! A man in blue tells us that they want to ask for aid from Indels Castle, but they say there's a creature living in the Limestone Cave on the way there, so they can't send anyone. If it weren't for that monster, he would send for help immediately! Looks like something we'll have to deal with later…

There is a man in armor up here, too - this is Master Tasman, and he is surprised to see Dart. Dart is rather relieved that his old teacher is still alive. Come on now, Tasman argues, he's the one who taught Dart how to swing a sword! He won't be taken down that easily! Despite that, however, he is but one man, and he couldn't stop them all. We've already heard about Shana, right? Dart confirms that he's heading to Hellena to save her.

In that case, Tasman says, he would like to have a quick match with us before we go. You know, to see if we even have what it takes to rescue Shana! We can incredulously ask if now is the best time, or agree by saying that it would be an honor… Tasman just tells us to show him our true power! We shouldn't even think about being easy on him! Shall we begin?!

Tutorial (Battle)
We transition to a battle screen, where Tasman says he'll give us a little refresher course about the ABC's of combat. This is a tutorial, of course, and he goes over Additions and how you have to hit the X button in the correct moment. If the button is gray then we were too fast, if it's blue we were too slow, but a white glow is perfect! He also mentions enemy counterattacks - if the normal blue color is interrupted by orange, you have to actually hit O instead or get blasted off your feet mid-combo by the enemy. You'll still do some damage from the hits you landed, but you'll take some damage yourself if you fail that input.

After going over attacks, Tasman points out that swinging our sword is not the only tactic we can use. During bad times we should defend and wait for a chance. Defending recovers HP a little, and also halves the damage we take. It completely protects against attacks which cause status ailments too, which is handy. We can learn more skills by gaining experience, and they can be selected on the 'Addition' screen in our menu. We can't actually change our chosen ability in-combat, though, so we should equip it beforehand like we would an item.

Some additions are easy to use, some are powerful, they're all unique. All of them look good, but we shouldn't be fooled - the secret of survival is to select the skill that suits us. Even the lowly Double Slash can be effective, it all depends on our skill… Basically, the more you use a given addition the more it levels up, increasing its damage over time, to a point.

After we tell our teacher that we've learned enough, we leave combat and he informs us that he's going out on a journey of his own soon, so if we think we need to practice more, now's the time to ask him… With everything done, though, we head out of town and onto the world map…

Before we get there, though, we cut away to Hellena Prison, which is apparently located on a huge pillar of rock some distance away from the land, connected to the mainland with a drawbridge.

We cut to a dank cell inside, where a prison warden marches in and roughly dumps a girl onto the ground, telling her to be good in there. This must be Shana. We then cut again to the middle of the prison, which has a very rough aesthetic, with tunnels and chasms carved into the monolithic rock, and then covered over with layers upon layers of rough woodwork, including rickety bridges, rather unstable-looking roof supports, and thin walkways without balustrades next to deep pits. OSHA would have a field day. Besides a couple soldiers, we can spot two figures standing on a central wooden bridge - one very broad, very large guy with a blue-and-gold cloak and a spiked helmet, and a smaller guy in silver with a dark hooded cloak.

The giant man, Fruegel, wonders who the hell this girl is!? He has a right to know! The hooded man responds cryptically that the world's future rests on her… Fruegel wants more clarification than whatever that was, but the hooded man just reiterates that's all he needs to know. The rest exceeds his understanding. He should simply follow his orders like the rest. Fruegel insists he's not taking the hooded man's orders, though - only His Majesty Doel can order him around! The hooded man wonders if that is so…? Well, he should try to remember this…

The hooded man then lashes out, knocking Fruegel on his ass, and declares that if he lays a scratch on the girl, it'll cost him more than his head! This is a message from Emperor Doel himself! Fruegel gets up and curses out the hooded man, then turns around and fumes, lashing out in his anger and sending an unfortunate soldier screaming to his death as he knocks him into the nearby chasm. Ahhh!

Dart finally arrives on the world map, in a region known as 'South of Serdio.' I think Serdio is the name of the region, so 'South Serdio' could have worked too? The map has several zoom levels - the one where you walk around along predetermined routes is the one we're using now, but we can zoom out to both a regional map which depicts all of South (of) Serdio, and then a further level to depict all of the game world - it seems we're in the far southeast of the place. The only place on the full map I can really make out is the 'aquatic coral reef' in the ocean. Riveting.

It seems this game doesn't have an open world map, as such, but just a bunch of nodes connected to each other, each of which represents a particular location. We might get some form of fast travel down the line, but I imagine this makes long-distance travel a bit of a hassle…

Anyway, we leave the burned down Seles behind us, and now there's only one way to go… to the forest! So far, so cliché...

Broken25 · Tuesday at 9:12 PM

Funny, just yesterday someone mentioned this game in Omi's FF thread and i was vaguely curious about it.

Roarian · Tuesday at 9:18 PM

Broken25 said:
Funny, just yesterday someone mentioned this game in Omi's FF thread and i was vaguely curious about it.

I'm leaving the Final Fantasy franchise alone - for one, I've already played pretty much all of them, some of them multiple times. Secondly, it seems kinda pointless to do when someone else is already covering them right next door. Also this thread was totally not a result of me reading the FF LPs and getting back into playing JRPGs as a result. Not at all, I promise.

I really don't care if a game is considered good or not, as long as it plays relatively painlessly. If it's just a nuisance to play, I'm probably dropping it pretty early anyway. So I'd rather cover some games on here that are slightly more obscure (in as far as they're not the first examples out of people's mouths) rather than the super-obvious. Or even just old games that nobody's thought about in a while...

WestOrEast · Tuesday at 11:19 PM

Has an X Killer ever actually managed to kill off X? GTA, WoW, Halo, FF... any downturn they've been having is because of their studio's poor decisions, not because someone else managed to knock them down the hill.

Ulmicola · 2025-01-22T04:35:54-0500

WestOrEast said:
In something of a rarity for me, I didn't actually have a problem with Estelle's and Joshua's romance. Not sure why, exactly. Possibly that the game is from Estelle's POV (a novel and good rarity in itself!) and that she is such an honest and earnest character, with a healthy serving of good humor. Can't see a sign of 'oh, big bro, hentai baka~!' that you would normally get in anime not-quite incest.

Looking forward to whatever's next for you as well as Estelle's quest to get Joshua and herself into matching wedding dresses.

The Cold Steel games sure went all in on the weird anime tropes, even though they don't quite reach that level - at least the most recent arc (I've only played the first game so far, since that's the one that got translated) dialed it back a bit, simply because the protagonist is an adult whose job isn't exactly a squeaky clean one: the police already has a very tsundere relationship with him, if he were to openly lust after his very underage charge, he'd be thrown in jail for sure.

Sure, a certain purple-haired young woman isn't above teasing him but, then again, that's how she acts with everyone.

WestOrEast · 2025-01-22T10:17:10-0500

Ulmicola said:
The Cold Steel games sure went all in on the weird anime tropes, even though they don't quite reach that level - at least the most recent arc (I've only played the first game so far, since that's the one that got translated) dialed it back a bit, simply because the protagonist is an adult whose job isn't exactly a squeaky clean one: the police already has a very tsundere relationship with him, if he were to openly lust after his very underage charge, he'd be thrown in jail for sure.

Sure, a certain purple-haired young woman isn't above teasing him but, then again, that's how she acts with everyone.

That's one of the reasons I didn't care for CS I and 2. As well as the fact that I had just finished playing all three Sky games and if Joshua wasn't interesting enough to be the star of three games, was his carbon copy interesting enough to carry four games? As well as several other gripes that have kept me from ever being interested in the final two games.

Roarian · 2025-01-22T13:43:37-0500

Forest - Mandatory First JRPG Area

Instead of some fancy fantasy name, this place is just called… Forest. It's a forest. I like the quality of the pre-rendered backgrounds in this game - the nature really looks pretty great compared to some of its contemporaries, and clearly a bunch of time went into drawing and animating all this stuff you could walk by in seconds.

A little ways into the map we can find a merchant who has lost his squirrel - oh well! In these troubled times, you gotta protect yourself.. What do we think, do we want to buy anything from him? Regardless of if you buy anything, he wonders if we want to know how to use those items? Lessons are free!

Tutorial (Magic Items)
Amusingly, accepting this second tutorial also dumps us into a battle - against the shopkeeper! He explains 'attack items' like that Burn Out we got earlier. Their damage is determined by the magic attack power of the user and its attributes. Frankly an item is essentially magic given physical form, so if you have more magic of your own, the effect will be greater.

Next there's the eight elements to consider: fire, water, thunder, wind, earth, light, dark, thunder, and non-elemental. The first few are opposing elements - fire and water, wind and earth, and light and darkness each do double damage to each other, and half damage to themselves. It seems thunder and non-elemental fall outside of this scheme. We can check what element an enemy is when we select them - they'll have a different color text box depending on their element. Red for fire, blue for water, and so forth. The only ones that might trip you up are yellow for light and purple for thunder.

One last thing he covers is 'multiplying items', or items which you can amp up by spamming buttons, as shown with the 'multi' tag in their description. Burn Out, for example, allows you to hit the X button while the animation plays to add a bunch of damage to it - and if you can really mash that button, I can get it like 50% up from its base damage. That whole thing very much reminds me of a similar system in Final Fantasy VIII for boosting your GF damage.

Anyway, we take our leave, and the merchant wishes us a good day. He'll teach us how to use the items any time we want! Naturally he also sells stuff - I grab a couple of those attack items for now, and then it's time to set off again.

This is one of the first places we can run into random encounters, and a lot of them can be taken care of pretty quickly with a competent mastery of basic additions. Using Volcano on most of them is good enough, especially after you level up and get a nice damage boost. Health also goes up pretty quickly - I get like 30 maximum HP every level, which means that the same attack effectively does half as much damage to me, and my defense has gone up to reduce that number further. Really makes things easier.

In terms of what we're fighting… Gotta love it when the very first enemy you run into is confidently titled an 'Assassin Cock'! Besides angry chickens we can also find berserk mice, goblins, and 'Trent' treants around the place - each of them is a different element, but they all have less than 5 HP, so they go down to a single Volcano addition when we reach level 3, which is pretty quickly. Healing Potions are common drops, and we find a Charm Potion in a chest - basically a Repel item from Pokémon.

After crossing a log to get over a chasm we get to a bit of a maze map - trees hem us in from progressing, but if we leave the side of the map we'll pop back up in various random locations around the edges, so we can get everywhere with a bit of creative exploration. Besides a few basic items and a bunch of enemies, though, there's not much to do here but find the exit. Eventually I leave southwards and walk towards the screen until we reach a branch dangling over a short cliff, where we climb down another log to get lower down. The moment we actually jump off, though, we're suddenly ambushed by a wild dog!

Amusingly, instead of actually fighting the thing, Dart just snaps that he has no time to deal with it and shoos it away. The moment does seem familiar to him, though, and the camera slowly pans up to reveal a slightly sepia-toned flashback in this exact location, where we see a much younger Dart - already in a red tank top, to keep the brand going - running alongside a young girl as they make their way across the fallen log. As they jump off the log they're ambushed by a wild dog, and the young Dart T-poses it for dominance, telling it to cut it out and to leave Shana alone! Dart remembers saying that, and tells Shana to hang in there. He'll get her out, it's a promise!

It's a short trip to the exit from here, though there is a side-path you can take at one point which Dart refuses to go down because it doesn't lead to Hellena Prison. Guess we'll be going there later, huh? The world map similarly has nodes along the way which only have a single direction to go right now - I assume that'll fill out later.

Just in case you didn't realize, by the way, there are random encounters on the world map! It's the same enemies as before, and usually in small numbers on account of our small party, but we can grind pretty much anywhere if necessary. Getting to level 4 before the prison would take a while, but it does increase Dart's damage substantially…

Hellena Prison - This Place Needs Safety Nets

As we enter the next area, we see some large winged creature flying over the prison before we arrive - I'm not sure if it's supposed to just be a bat or something, but it looked pretty large as it winged away there. Another Dragon...?

At any rate, Dart scoots closer to get a better look of the seaside fortress, and wonders how he can sneak in there…? Clearly someone heard him, because almost immediately a merchant's caravan rides up the path behind him, and Dart quickly hides behind some rocks as it passes. We chase after it, naturally, until it comes to a stop in front of the prison's drawbridge.

The gatekeeper concludes that the tradesman is delivering fresh meat and fish, right? Sir Fruegel will be pleased. The merchant muses that they've been stocking up, huh? Is there something going on? The gatekeeper snarls that it's definitely none of his business! Got that? The merchant quickly apologizes - sorry, sorry, he was just making conversation! The gatekeeper snaps that he'll just go inspect the load. We get a prompt to hit a button here, and Dart quickly dives into cover behind the wagon, allowing the gatekeeper to sniff around inside and declare that everything is in order. As he walks back to the bridge, though, Dart quickly sneaks into the back anyway, and gets carted inside…

The cart briefly drives through the main hallways of the fort before veering off, parking in a storage area to the side. Dart sighs in relief - he made it in! From here we're allowed to wander - there's a save point nearby, and we can loot some items from a couple boxes strewn about. To progress, though, we have to move past the merchant that brought the goods here… and he is shocked to see us, and wonders who we are?! Dart curses as the merchant's cries alert one of the guards, who comes swinging in to kill us. Thankfully Hellena Wardens are pushovers, so I quickly beat this one up. That was easy!

The merchant is panicking in the aftermath - we shouldn't kill him, please! He's just a delivery man! Dart tells him to be quiet, and assures him that he's not here to kill him. The merchant is relieved, and promises he won't make a noise. He'll pretend he didn't see us, and he'll just be unloading over here. Good luck! Oh, wait… If we're short on items, we should just tell him. Business is business, after all! Heh.

We can take a side-path to find an elevator that's out of service, which is kind of funny - elevators here are just baskets that someone (or something) pulls up by a long rope, so I'm not sure how that'd even work. Taking this elevator just causes it to drop halfway up, and we're back where we started.

There are no random encounters in the actual prison, but there are wardens walking around, and they'll charge you while screaming 'Bastard!' if you get too close, and they'll instigate a fight if they reach you. Going to another map or getting to a place they can't reach works wonders to lose them, though, so it's easy to avoid most fights here. If you want. I fought a bunch of them to get to level 4 so I could one-shot them. There are several side-passages to take to rooms with more guards - looting them nets us a Leather Jacket, though, our first equipment - and it's something our hero can't use. Figures. After exploring a little, I find an elevator that's actually functional, and use it to get to a new area.

Upon entering the next room, Dart overhears something just off-screen. Wardens are shouting at some people to hurry along - they should quit dragging their feet! The men they're escorting are knights of Basil, and one of the wardens tells them they've got some rotten luck to be captured alive. They'll regret that!

When they ask what that means, the warden wonders if they really think they're gonna live out their days in jail? Sir Fruegel is gonna feed them to the monster! One of the guards tries to escape but is pushed back. Feed them to the monster…? To hell with that! They won't be humiliated by scum like them! The warden says he's feisty… The worst kind of prisoner of war, but the best kind of pet food! The knight spits back that if they want to kill him, they should do it now!

'Oh, I don't think so!' a voice cries from off-screen. A helmetless knight wielding a spear arrives, and the knights recognize him immediately - he's Sir Lavitz! The wardens are upset - that bastard broke out of his cell!? What an idiot - does he think he can escape from here alone? As the wardens attack him, Lavitz tells the knights that he'll take care of this. They should just get back to Indels Castle alive! They should tell King Albert…!

The two run off across a nearby bridge and off-screen, but they run into a bunch more soldiers, and moments later both are yeeted off the edge into the nearby chasm. Nice try! Lavitz, aghast, takes down his enemy and moves on to the next, killing them too.

This is the moment Dart arrives, wondering if there is a prison riot…!? The wardens wonder who the hell he is - is he another dog of Basil? Lavitz is a little busy dramatically finishing off another guard to question the new arrival, while Dart faces off with his own foe. After all the wardens are down, though, Lavitz effortlessly shifts his attacks towards Dart, clashing blades with him and demanding to know who he is. Dart quickly introduces himself, and insists he's not the enemy. Lavitz, seeing the truth of this, backs away and returns the favor - he is Lavitz Slambert, leader of Basil's First Knighthood, at our service!

Before more can be said, a new group of wardens show up and start to surround us - looks like we don't have time for extended introductions! Dart agrees, and the two face off against these enemies back-to-back. As you may have guessed, Lavitz is our second party member - he wields a spear, and uses an addition called 'Harpoon' which is a little weaker than Dart's Volcano, mostly because he's level 3 when you get him. I dig him already, but a large part of that is the fact that having a spear-wielder along in a game about 'dragoons' just makes total sense in a Final Fantasy context, heh.

After the battle is over, Lavitz takes a moment to kneel on the bridge where his comrades fell, and promises he'll carry on in their stead. They should rest in peace. He then turns to us and recalls we introduced ourselves as 'Dart', right? He never imagined anyone would be crazy enough to break into Hellena Prison. What are we up to? Dart explains he's here to rescue someone important to him. Does he know anything about her?! Her name is Shana! Lavitz apologizes for not knowing anything about her, and Dart says he'll have to keep looking, then.

As we move away, though, Lavitz tells us to wait. He'll go with us. Dart wonders if he doesn't have to get back to his castle as soon as possible? Lavitz just asks about this girl he's looking for - she's important, right? Dart just says that's his problem to deal with, since it was his fault. Lavitz admits he's not sure what Dart's plan is here, but he won't make it out on his own… Not in one piece. That goes for himself, too. If we combine forces, though, he thinks we could make it…! With the girl, of course. Dart curiously wonders why Lavitz would trust him? We only just met! Lavitz just says we held our own back there, and he was honestly impressed. He trusted us to watch his back, and that's all he really needs to know. It's good enough for him. Dart finally agrees to go together, then…

We're left to explore again, and we can visit several cells here (which are unlocked, apparently) to speak to some prisoners. In one room we can find someone who just didn't want to enlist. Why did he have to get sent to this hellhole!? God, if only he had known, he would've just joined the army! Another person is more helpful, explaining that the wardens were talking about a girl locked in the second prison tower. Why were they making such a fuss over one girl? In the next cell over we find someone panicking about Fruegel… He's coming to kill them, and they don't want to die…! After looting a few stray items, it's time to move onwards and upwards…

Speaking of upwards, we beat up another soldier on the next map to use the elevator right behind him, riding it upwards until we reach a tower. The place is locked down, so we'll have to head the other direction, towards a more heavily guarded area of the prison. There's wardens everywhere, but we can't actually get into a fight because our characters just refuse to get near them. We can use the stairs to go up, though, and get an overview of the entire room. The room is tightly guarded, but it turns out the one place that isn't guarded is… the place where the key is to the next tower over. Doh! Lavitz tells Dart to take it along, as we'll definitely need it if the girl is being kept under high security. The item's name is 'Key to Shane's Cell', so I think he's on the money there.

As we grab the item, Lavitz wonders why exactly these people kidnapped this one girl to begin with, come to think of it…? Dart admits he intends to ask the head warden of the prison that same question, but that can wait until after we rescue Shana.

We quickly backtrack outside and towards the other tower, where we use the keys to get inside. The next map has a bunch of guards congregating near a cell - if we approach, they recognize Lavitz as someone from Basil, and Dart tells him we need to get these guys before they make a noise! Let's go! After another fight against a trio of regular guards, which goes by rather quickly, we come out victorious…

After the fight, a voice from inside the nearby cell asks who it is…!? Dart recognizes the voice and rushes over to the door. Shana, is that her? It's Dart! He's here to rescue her! Lavitz just tells Dart to hurry it up, since more guards are coming. Dart unlocks the door and heads inside, and he and Shana exchange awkward greetings for a moment. Dart says he can't believe it's her… it's been five years, hasn't it? He thought she would have forgotten about him by now… Shana wonders how she could forget? She turns to see Dart's face, and he argues he hasn't changed much. Shana disagrees, though - he looks much stronger, much more than the Dart she knew!

Lavitz yells from off-screen that he'd hate to ruin the moment, but the guards are coming! As Dart rushes out, Shana runs a hand through her hair and follows. Outside, a bunch more guards congregate on the cell. The girl is escaping, one declares! Not on his watch, another responds furiously. After beating up a bunch more regular mooks, Dart wonders if Shana is hurt? Shana says she's fine. Lavitz argues we can celebrate later, since we're still deep in the belly of the beast right now. Besides, it's a little too damp in here to have a party, isn't it?

Dart agrees we should go, and suggests that Shana follow behind him. Shana argues that she's eighteen years old now, and she can take care of herself! With that she pulls out a bow and declares he can fight too!

Dart isn't so sure about this, but Lavitz tells him that she's clearly grown up, man. She survived in the deepest hellhole in Serdio. If she was an ordinary weapon, she wouldn't have made it this far. Hell, Dart dove into that same hellhole to save her, so he thinks they're both made of tougher stuff than they realize. Dart admits that to him, Shana hasn't changed a bit… Lavitz suggests we can talk that out after we get out of this prison, all right?

Meanwhile, back on the bridge where we first met him, Fruegel is informed about the breakout by one of the wardens. What did he just say…!? The warden nervously repeats that the Knight from Basil he had captive broke out of his cell! Sorry, sir! Fruegel, annoyed, says that's not what he was talking about, idiot! The other thing! The warden nervously recalls that it was about the girl from Seles being taken by the 'red one', right? Fruegel demands he repeat that one more time, and the warden declares that the girl was taken by a man with red armor!

Naturally, Fruegel angrily tosses the messenger over the railing to his death, snarling that all his men are incompetent swine! They shouldn't let them get out alive! Wait! He almost forgot the most important thing - they shouldn't kill the girl, as that's an order from His Majesty Doel! If they fail, he'll behead every one of them, slowly! Muttering to himself, Fruegel wonders about this 'red one.' Oh, he'll show him red! He'll paint everything in this prison with his blood!

It's time to get out of here - which means backtracking! We have Shana in the party now, who is honestly underwhelming - she doesn't get any Additions, it seems, so her bow-shots just do a pretty basic amount of damage. That said, she'd got better magic stats than the boys, so she's a good pick for tossing those attack items at people, and for general support. Her biggest flaw is how frail she is at this point. Beating up a couple wardens will at least help her level up in due course, and get that damage up a little bit.

We can explore a few more cells in this section of the prison. In one of them there's a guy who mentions that when night falls, he hears an eerie voice coming from somewhere. It goes 'Arrrhhhh aaarrrhh….' That eerie voice must be the cry of the dead! Oh no, soon he will be…! Next door there's a couple locked up together - one of them is despondent, declaring that everything is over now - there is no way to get out of here alive! His life is ending here! His fellow inmate tells him not to give up - if they throw their hope away, they're just fools! He won't give up! He'll get out of here alive!

We make our way back almost to the start of the prison when we finally run into the merchant again - he recognizes us, and says he'll still offer us a good deal. He also tells us to be careful, since everybody's really on edge… While here I stock up on items, and also put that Leather Jacket on Shana. We climb down to get back to the main hall, and we learn why the merchant was up there, instead of where we left him - a certain giant spiky-helmeted warden with a club is standing in our way. Fruegel! As we approach the huge man, he concludes that Dart must be the red bastard that's acting like a prince, huh?

'What of it?' Dart wonders. Fruegel just laughs, and says it's obvious, isn't it? He isn't going to get out of here alive! He's gonna be food for his pet after he minces him up! Dart asks Lavitz if this is the Head Warden here, and Lavitz confirms that, explaining that his name is Fruegel, and he is such a monster that even his own countrymen fear and despise him. Fruegel notices we're calm in the face of that statement, and wonders if we're perhaps paralyzed with fear!?

Dart just demands to know if Fruegel attacked Seles, but he denies that… No, he just gave the order! Dart then inquires why he had Shana kidnapped, but Fruegel admits he has no clue there. Emperor Doel just said to bring the girl back, but how boring is that…? That's why he added a new order as well - to annihilate the village of Seles! Dart, furious at the warden's callousness, snarls that he is unforgivable filth! It's Boss Time…

[Boss: Fruegel, Hellena Warden*2, Senior Warden*2]

When we get into the fight, Fruegel first sends out a couple of ablative wardens - these are pretty much like the regular enemies we've faced in this dungeon, if slightly tankier. After killing them off, though, Fruegel says they were wimps, and summons a pair of more powerful Senior Wardens, and also becomes targetable himself. The biggest issue to deal with is that both Fruegel and the Senior Wardens can buff themselves with Power Up, and the latter enemies blow themselves up in a huge explosion when they die, trying to take us with them, though Dart will be fine due to elemental resistance. This is mostly an issue for Shana.

Fruegel is all about physical attacks, tossing huge boulders and occasionally bear-hugging people for significant damage. Oof. After killing the last of the enemies - probably Fruegel - we get a whole bunch of potions and a Knight Shield accessory for our trouble. A couple of my characters level up as well, with Lavitz learning his 'Spinning Cane' addition.

Fruegel falls backwards against the wall, but is still alive - Dart wonders how!? Anyway, let's just get out of here! Lavitz grabs a nearby monster 'horse' and tells the others to get on, hurry! Fruegel, meanwhile, slowly gets back up and curses us - damn it all! He shouts that his men should keep them from escaping even if it costs them their lives! Outside we see Dart and Shana share a horse as it dashes across the bridge, just as one of Fruegel's men calls out to raise it - there's a jailbreak! The bridge gets dragged up, and Lavitz only barely manages to jump the gap with his horse, which probably needs to go to the glue factory after landing that gigantic drop. Jeez. That was like twenty feet straight down! At least they're out, I suppose…

Back in the prison, Fruegel yells at his underlings to bring the girl back here, or they're dead! Understand!? The hooded man from before reappears at this point on a walkway above, and Fruegel nervously wonders when he snuck in…? The man wonders if he shall report this to His Majesty Doel? Fruegel begs him to wait - he'll bring back the girl! The hooded man is sure he will. Otherwise, he would be dead already… Fruegel angrily shouts at a nearby warden he should go too, dumbass! As he leaves to follows his men, the hooded man muses to himself that it doesn't matter. Everything is progressing just as he planned. More or less. We don't realize they're in the palm of his hand…

We return to the world map, where a new path has opened up for us from one of the previous nodes. If we head towards the Forest instead, though, Shana hears noises on the road, and we soon spot a bunch of people - more soldiers from Sandora. It seems that the Imperial army has camped here, so it would be unwise to go this way. Let's take another route! That route, naturally, leads towards the 'Prairie.' Descriptive…

Next: We cross the prairie, learn that our hero doubled up on tragic origin stories, and run into a big ol' snake...

Let's Play RPGs I Missed! [Now Playing: The Legend of Dragoon]

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