Trails from Zero

[Koby]

I always cooked at least one of every item just for the achievos in the games, but I'm one who hoards items and don't really use them so I never actually utilize the stuff I cook. I'll heal outside of battle using arts and then always find the next replenisher for hp/ep before it ever became an issue of using an item to restore it.

 

Also build my characters in a way to maximum dps and replenish cp, so I hardly find myself in predicaments that I can't just spam s-craft, etc.

 

I'm currently playing Trails Through Daybreak.

[Dave55811]

I think I fucked up in my previous post.  At the time, I was on day 3.  Now, I'm on day 4.  I got finished dealing with the Ancient Battlefield (had to rescue some tourists, as per an urgent request), then I wrapped up that one side-quest where I had to take 5 pictures (four more for bonus DP).  I want to go back to my SSS pad so I can report those missions, but going there will trigger an event, so I'm kind of holding off.  I got one "Horizon Rod", and supposedly I now have an opportunity to catch every single fish in the game.

 

21 hours ago, Koby said:

Always enjoy tits.

Noooo; not tits.  TitS.  Granted, I do enjoy tits.  What man doesn't?  Hell; women enjoy tits, too.  But, seriously; I meant TitS.  Not tits.

 

13 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Hey, you said it, not me! I danced around it, but yes this was ultimately the issue when I was helping you get set up to play Kiseki. As I recall, it took weeks for you to begin playing as we performed troubleshooting until I let you solve things your way. You'll notice that I strategically cut the quote as well.  I'm mostly just joking please don't be mad.
 @Koby As you get to know Dave through his posts here you'll come to find out that he's got a way of going about things. I'm not trying to be a hard-ass to him by bringing this up...but my strategy after knowing him IRL for years is to make one good faith effort to show him the normal way of achieving a goal. Then, if I see a wild goose chase begin I grab popcorn. He's a great dude, but Dave is gonna Dave.
Besides...

  Hide contents

 

23 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

enjoy TitS

 

22 hours ago, Koby said:

Always enjoy tits.

We're all the same in the ways that matter.

 

Well, I figured I'd get it out of the way.  Indeed, that whole ordeal with me wanting to set things up to play TitS was, well, an ordeal.  I'm sure it was for you; you were giving me advice, and I tried some of that advice, but something about it just didn't sit well with me.  In the case of using my PS4 controller, I think I had to install Steam, and I just couldn't be bothered to do that, as though I didn't want Steam installed due to inconveniences.  Then, I decided "I wanna play PC games in my living room," which resulted in me having to get a new TV, because my previous one was incompatible with my PC.  I had to get a new HDMI cable to connect the TV to the PC, but it worked.  I got a controller for my PC (Ultimate C 2.4G Wireless Controller), which worked perfectly.....until I started playing in my living room and discovering that the controller was prone to menstrual cycles, leading to having to do some research, learning from a pReddit article that USB-C cables can only go a certain length, and can't be extended because of communication issues (communication between the controller and the port, I guess?).  But, despite your frustrations and my shortcomings, like I said, I was able to play and enjoy the OG Trails in the Sky trilogy.  Perhaps I could stand to plan ahead if I consider playing PC games in the near future, but for now, I'm content.

 

As for me admitting that I'm hard to work with, well, I figured I'd be the one to say it.  It may come off as severely self-deprecating, but on the other hand, I'm not an arrogant sack of shit who thinks he's better than everyone else.

 

13 hours ago, Zemekis said:

It's interesting to me how much you grind for food ingredients & mira/sepith. I almost never did that, if ever. I used food maybe twice per game tops on optional bosses (the ones you can lose to and still proceed). Do you guys use it often in normal battles? As you said earlier, with fast-forward and standard encounters, holding a button is usually sufficient to evaporate enemies. I had full Craft Points rather often. I also used Gladiator Belts and the like for massive gainz. Ch. 3 is pretty long if memory serves. I am DYING to play some Trails myself, but the FF7 Rebirth slop will not end.

Grinding is an addiction of mine, but I think it's also beneficial, because it can serve as a preparatory method.  In the TitS games, I realized that having foodstuffs was a good idea, because they can be used immediately, whereas Orbal Arts take long.  I've used Orbal Arts to buff my team now and then, but some foodstuffs can offer the same buffs, even at higher percentages.  I wonder if there's some placebo effect as well, that buffs from foodstuffs are better than from Orbal Arts....but, I could be wrong.

 

Speaking of which, I remember acquiring a Gladiator Belt...or something similar?  It was something I got for reaching a new rank.  What it is, I should equip that.

 

Oh; you're still on FF7R, eh?  Yeah; that game will take up your time.  I don't plan on replaying that game anytime soon.

 

13 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Dave, what's your playtime looking like thus far?

Oh boy; this again?  Well, I'm currently at 44:32:22.  I'm 11/16 pages through Ch.3 (based on what I printed out of the GameFAQs guide, as linked in the OP), and as for my overall progress, I'd say I'm within the 50% range.  Maybe above 45%, at least.

 

14 hours ago, Zemekis said:

My interest in your progress threads will be redoubled once I'm playing Trails at the same time. Would this be the appropriate thread to post my progress in? Or should I make a new one since that one is more about release news?

That thread seems old.  If you're interested in making a Kiseki progress thread, you can.  Then again, I too am interested in making Kiseki progress threads.  I may not visit your threads, because I'm not as far into the series as you are, and if spoilage in my Kiseki threads is fair game, it's only fair that your threads have that right.  Then comes the time when I experience the Erebonia Arc (Trails of Cold Steel series) and I make threads for each one.  I don't know if that will lead to a conflict of interest or some kind of competition or what.  I guess, since I can't brain properly on this right now, you can honestly do what you want.  Post in that thread, or make your own thread; do as you will.

[Nekone]

6 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Then comes the time when I experience the Erebonia Arc (Trails of Cold Steel series) and I make threads for each one.

imo, better off making individual threads for those as well - the arc is even LARGER and covers a LOT of story/content. It was also my favorite arc by far, for numerous reasons (of course, the ever-improving soundtrack being one of 'em, just wait until you get to that point you'll see why I love its soundtrack the most).

 

Also, let me know whenever you finish Zero, I can share some of my captured gameplay. I'd rather not spoil anything.

[Zemekis]

11 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Noooo; not tits.  TitS.  Granted, I do enjoy tits.  What man doesn't?  Hell; women enjoy tits, too.  But, seriously; I meant TitS.  Not tits.

 

11 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Speaking of which, I remember acquiring a Gladiator Belt...or something similar?  It was something I got for reaching a new rank.  What it is, I should equip that.

Look into it, I use them a lot on my fave characters.

11 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Oh; you're still on FF7R, eh?  Yeah; that game will take up your time.  I don't plan on replaying that game anytime soon.

Yeah, but I don't get a chance to play games for days at a time right now. It's not like I'm grinding away at it daily or anything.

 

12 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Oh boy; this again?

I was just messing with you. But thanks for answering. My playtime was a bit higher than the average on this one due to leaving it on a few times. I don't think I have a super accurate time count for Zero.

 

12 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

If you're interested in making a Kiseki progress thread, you can.

Can I? There's already a thread for both Cold Steel III & IV. If we each add one for our playthroughs, won't things get messy? I won't write super long updates anyway, I think I can get by with the existing threads for those. You should be fine to create one for Cold Steel & CS II, at least. Koby should be able to make the call.
 

6 hours ago, Nekone said:

It was also my favorite arc by far, for numerous reasons

Me too! The community consensus appears to be split between SC or Crossbell, but I align best with the Cold Steel games.

 

On 7/9/2024 at 1:34 AM, Koby said:

I always cooked at least one of every item just for the achievos in the games, but I'm one who hoards items and don't really use them so I never actually utilize the stuff I cook. I'll heal outside of battle using arts and then always find the next replenisher for hp/ep before it ever became an issue of using an item to restore it.

 

Also build my characters in a way to maximum dps and replenish cp, so I hardly find myself in predicaments that I can't just spam s-craft, etc.

I'm an item-hoarder too. I always finish JRPGs with a stack of Elixers/Max Potions/Turbo Ethers/Zeram Powders/etc.

I played the same way with CP replenishing equipment. Seems like Dave is taking the food route, which is good in the sense that it's faster but it uses up turns. I suppose you could do both if you're a real CP fiend and spam S-Crafts into oblivion.

 

Hey Dave, do you have a favorite NPC in Zero yet?

[Dave55811]

Last night, I got finished finding Colin, the child of Pinkie (Harold).  Halfway through that long-ass quest, Renne decided to tag along, because of her skills at hide-and-seek.  Fast-forward to now, I had to put my Switch to sleep, because I got tired as Estelle and Joshua were talking to us at SSS headquarters.  In retrospect, I should've suspected, because of Renne's involvement, but this quest turned out to be rather heavy.  Before Harold explained his story, I had a realization; I could've sworn there was a couple shown during Star Door 15 from Trails 3rd.  I haven't watched Star Door 15 on YouTube to confirm my suspicions, but the story Harold explained certainly had some familiar elements.  Harold said this guy was a trusted friend, but those of you who learned of Renne's origins would prompt you to think that Harold chose unwisely.  However, he didn't say what the name of the place was, nor was there any reference to "Paradise".

Not real smart, are ya, Harold?  Not only are you abandoning your child, but this friend of yours set her up to be a sex-worker.  I'd say that your friend deserved to die and that his place deserved to be burned down.  Though you will never know, your child is safe.  Traumatized and under the wing of some evil people, but safe.  Hell, those "evil people" actually have standards.  Of course, after TitS, those evil people have been dealt with, and Estelle has plans for Renne.  As for Renne herself, who is to say that she won't be a guardian angel for Colin?  That happened before I fought some wolves.

 

I'm about to hop back on Trails from Zero so I can wrap up that scene, and attempt to wrap up Ch.3 by tonight (at least).  But, for now, responses....

 

9 hours ago, Zemekis said:

21 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Noooo; not tits.  TitS.  Granted, I do enjoy tits.  What man doesn't?  Hell; women enjoy tits, too.  But, seriously; I meant TitS.  Not tits.

The effect comes from reading it outloud.

 

9 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Yeah, but I don't get a chance to play games for days at a time right now. It's not like I'm grinding away at it daily or anything.

Personally I see the real time-consuming shit to be all those side-quests.  Concerning grinding, at least you can go beyond Lv.50, but I'd suggest tackling those side-quests.  They will become repetitive, but try to power on through.

 

9 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Hey Dave, do you have a favorite NPC in Zero yet?

Good question.

 

There's Sergei, Detective Dudley, Grace.....of the three I listed, I'd say Grace, albeit reluctantly, because she's with the media.  There's those bunny-girls (one named Cherry), then there's Rixia (whom I called Mao up to now), Ilya....oh, and I saw Anton and Ricky.  Estelle, Joshua, and Renne are NPC's in this game, but I wonder if I should exclude them, on account of how I played as them....or that them being favorites would just be a given.  Oh, and there's also Revache; Don Marconi is an Erebonian, and consigliere (the big guy; I forget his name right now) used to be a Jaeger....which is rather curious, because he didn't reveal my full name and background when we spoke earlier, which is a thing that Jaegers do, at least based on my cumulative experience with the series.  Actually, I don't even know if he's a consigliere; maybe he's an underboss, because a consigliere is often an attorney....or was that just from The Godfather?  I don't know my Mafia hierarchy.

 

I don't think I have a favorite NPC; it's not something I thought about when playing the Kiseki series.  The fact that I could name some of them should mean something, at least....especially Anton and Ricky.  Those two, I wouldn't call "favorites", especially since Anton is pretty much a cringe-dispenser.  But being a cringe-dispenser adds a little life, I guess.  Not that people should be cringe-dispensers, because, well, look at me.  But, I fear I share too much and should stop, especially since that's irrelevant to the topic here.  But, it's amusing to encounter those two here in Crossbell, like I did in Trails SC.

 

16 hours ago, Nekone said:

imo, better off making individual threads for those as well - the arc is even LARGER and covers a LOT of story/content. It was also my favorite arc by far, for numerous reasons (of course, the ever-improving soundtrack being one of 'em, just wait until you get to that point you'll see why I love its soundtrack the most).

 

Also, let me know whenever you finish Zero, I can share some of my captured gameplay. I'd rather not spoil anything.

Ten-to-one, I'll be making my own threads for each Trails game I experience.  Not sure about @Zemekis, though I said he can do as he will.

 

I have some captured content of my experience with Trails from Zero.  Unfortunately, most of them are 30-second clips, so I can't say I have anything too interesting to share.  That reminds me that I need to empty out the SD Card in my Switch.....but, I could honestly stand to capture less while playing Trails, because if the Switch can only capture 30-second clips, then what's the point?  The PS5 doesn't have that problem.....then again, the Switch was made more for gaming, and the PS5 is part of some pretentious, magisterial agenda in the industry....but, I digress.

[Zemekis]

3 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Personally I see the real time-consuming shit to be all those side-quests.  Concerning grinding, at least you can go beyond Lv.50, but I'd suggest tackling those side-quests.  They will become repetitive, but try to power on through.

Spoiler

That's what 90% of my playtime is (and why I haven't been gung ho about finishing the game...it's so painful to play). I think I've powered through even the stuff you gave up on. The rewards for powering through suck, too. I have never recommended this in my life, but I will state for the record: play FF7 Rebirth like a complete mouthbreather game journalist. Set the difficulty to Easy, skip side content & make a rush for the ending. Crafting doesn't matter, equipment doesn't matter...levels do somewhat. You will be fine if you just grind a few enemies on the map and go from each Main Story map marker to the next. Anyway, wrong thread. I have to get it out of my system once in a while.

 

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Renne decided to tag along

Oh yeah, I remember that part. Things are always interesting once Renne shows up.
 

 

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Ten-to-one, I'll be making my own threads for each Trails game I experience.  Not sure about @Zemekis, though I said he can do as he will.

Wouldn't those be duplicate threads, though? I know you said I can, but I'm more concerned about the two Admins who frequent our threads not appreciating there being 2 or 3 threads for each game in the series just so we can have our personal gameplay blogs. That said, I'm with you if we get the green light!

Do you use the Detective Notebook to look up elemental combinations for which spells you want to build? I found myself doing that far more in Zero & Azure than I did in the TitS trilogy. It's buried on such a weird page, is it under 'Help' in the menu or something? Or 'Tutorial'? I stumbled upon the listing of all spells at some point and wished I had found it earlier. Anyway, use that to build towards good spells! Earth Wall is pretty powerful & abusable if memory serves. I think it was White Gehenna that absolutely breaks SC. I didn't use a lot of spells in Zero so I don't have many favorite cheese spells.

[Nekone]

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

I have some captured content of my experience with Trails from Zero.  Unfortunately, most of them are 30-second clips, so I can't say I have anything too interesting to share.  That reminds me that I need to empty out the SD Card in my Switch.....but, I could honestly stand to capture less while playing Trails, because if the Switch can only capture 30-second clips, then what's the point?  The PS5 doesn't have that problem.....then again, the Switch was made more for gaming, and the PS5 is part of some pretentious, magisterial agenda in the industry....but, I digress.

I use a capture device with my Switch, allows me to record direct to my PC as I play on the Switch using specialized software. Elgato makes them.

[Dave55811]

Taking a boat-trip to that one place where I think I will encounter the Schwarze Auction.

 

I ran into Lechter.  I think he was from Trails 3rd.  I would've thought he was more of a "take me seriously" person in Erebonian politics, but this time he's all dressed up like he's going to the beach.  He was also playing a guitar (a lute?) and singing a song, and that's when it hit me that there's something about these Imperials, if that blonde dude (Olivert; I had to look up his name because I forgot) from TitS was anything to go by.  I don't know if Lechter engages in as much debauchery as Olivert, nor do I know if he swings both ways and shouldn't be entrusted with little girls....but, whatever.

 

I forgot to mention that I encountered one chick.  Her name's Kilika.  She looked familiar; I almost mistook her for that one chick in TitS, who worked at the Bracer Guild at Zeiss.  But, this one is working in the entertainment industry.  I swear; it must be the same person, but I'm only going by how she has hime's.....or, uh, side-locks.

 

46 minutes ago, Zemekis said:

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Personally I see the real time-consuming shit to be all those side-quests.  Concerning grinding, at least you can go beyond Lv.50, but I'd suggest tackling those side-quests.  They will become repetitive, but try to power on through.

  Reveal hidden contents

That's what 90% of my playtime is (and why I haven't been gung ho about finishing the game...it's so painful to play). I think I've powered through even the stuff you gave up on. The rewards for powering through suck, too. I have never recommended this in my life, but I will state for the record: play FF7 Rebirth like a complete mouthbreather game journalist. Set the difficulty to Easy, skip side content & make a rush for the ending. Crafting doesn't matter, equipment doesn't matter...levels do somewhat. You will be fine if you just grind a few enemies on the map and go from each Main Story map marker to the next. Anyway, wrong thread. I have to get it out of my system once in a while.

 

Oh.  Well, without revealing the hidden contents, I will say that I agree with some parts of what you said.

 

48 minutes ago, Zemekis said:

Wouldn't those be duplicate threads, though? I know you said I can, but I'm more concerned about the two Admins who frequent our threads not appreciating there being 2 or 3 threads for each game in the series just so we can have our personal gameplay blogs. That said, I'm with you if we get the green light!

Ah, that.  I think I was trying to imply that when I was asked about future Kiseki threads and who's going to make what and who will participate.  You could make your own progress threads, but I myself may not participate in them, because I'm not as far into the series as you are.  If I was to make a thread about my progress through a Cold Steel game, I'd assume you'd be okay with participating, since you've progressed into the series.....whereas if you made a progress thread through a Cold Steel game, well, I could still participate and post, but I have to anticipate spoilage, so it would be unwise of me to participate....plus, I don't know when I'll start Cold Steel 1.

 

1 hour ago, Zemekis said:

Do you use the Detective Notebook to look up elemental combinations for which spells you want to build? I found myself doing that far more in Zero & Azure than I did in the TitS trilogy. It's buried on such a weird page, is it under 'Help' in the menu or something? Or 'Tutorial'? I stumbled upon the listing of all spells at some point and wished I had found it earlier. Anyway, use that to build towards good spells! Earth Wall is pretty powerful & abusable if memory serves. I think it was White Gehenna that absolutely breaks SC. I didn't use a lot of spells in Zero so I don't have many favorite cheese spells.

I actually haven't done that.  Tio has a spell, which consumes 100EP, that inflicts 100% blind and does respectable damage.  Maybe I should experiment with Quartz, even though I've been content with what my team has....but, if I can get access to an overpowered Orbal Arts technique, that would be convenient.

 

37 minutes ago, Nekone said:

I use a capture device with my Switch, allows me to record direct to my PC as I play on the Switch using specialized software. Elgato makes them.

Ah.  A direct connection to your PC always does the trick, but I've never gotten around to setting mine up like that.  Basically, what I do with my Switch is that, once it's filled, I take out the SD Card and hook it up and move clips & screenshots to an external HDD.  The process could take hours, though.

[Zemekis]

5 hours ago, Nekone said:

I use a capture device with my Switch, allows me to record direct to my PC as I play on the Switch using specialized software. Elgato makes them.

I've heard that Elgatos are nice. I still have an HD PVR2 which works fine for my purposes but it's a hell of a setup when I wanna use it!

 

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Her name's Kilika.  She looked familiar; I almost mistook her for that one chick in TitS, who worked at the Bracer Guild at Zeiss.

Er...yes...it's Kilika. As her name and appearance would suggest. You're not mistaking anything, it's just her.
Recap from TitS 1 - 3, spoiler free but Spoiler tagged for tidyness:
 

Spoiler

 

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Ah, that.  I think I was trying to imply that when I was asked about future Kiseki threads and who's going to make what and who will participate.  You could make your own progress threads, but I myself may not participate in them, because I'm not as far into the series as you are.  If I was to make a thread about my progress through a Cold Steel game, I'd assume you'd be okay with participating, since you've progressed into the series.....whereas if you made a progress thread through a Cold Steel game, well, I could still participate and post, but I have to anticipate spoilage, so it would be unwise of me to participate....plus, I don't know when I'll start Cold Steel 1.

I'm just gonna drop this point since we're clearly miscommunicating.

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

I actually haven't done that.  Tio has a spell, which consumes 100EP, that inflicts 100% blind and does respectable damage.  Maybe I should experiment with Quartz, even though I've been content with what my team has....but, if I can get access to an overpowered Orbal Arts technique, that would be convenient.

You should look into it! Looking at the available spell list is important. It will help you choose which Quartz to place. The guide will likely mention spells that are recommended for certain battles, and you can sue your notebook to check how they are to be built.

4 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

Ah.  A direct connection to your PC always does the trick, but I've never gotten around to setting mine up like that.  Basically, what I do with my Switch is that, once it's filled, I take out the SD Card and hook it up and move clips & screenshots to an external HDD.  The process could take hours, though.

Do you still record 100% of your gameplay?

 

<--- Irrelevant to the discussion but nobody is likely to complain.

Edited July 11 by Zemekis
Accidentally posted too soon!

[Dave55811]

Last night I was exploring the east wing of the Schwarze Auction, and I found a couple calling each other out for having someone else to "spend quality time" with.  I think it was the wife that decided to break up, and also say that she'll find another man to spend time with at the Auction.  That's when I realized that, boy oh boy, the 1% sure do have it hard in life.

 

Anyway, I found something rather unique in a briefcase last night, something that, in retrospect, I should've suspected.  It was supposed to be a doll, but this doll looks so life-like.  Her name is KeA.  As in "Ikea", but without the "I", and I don't think she is Svenskar.  Then again, Sweden isn't a country in Kiseki, so......but that was a bit of a "WTF" moment.  I should've suspected that there'd be a trade of people in an event like the Schwarze Auction, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions.  Besides all that, I think this settles that "...FIND ME..." shit that Lloyd's been experiencing.  I think he experienced it once, very early on in the game, but it's been more recurring lately, quite often in the Schwarze Auction.  So, now, I'm carrying her in my arms and having to deal with dapper goons and their dogs.  According to the guide, though, there will come an event where I have to ensure that KeA doesn't take damage.  I'm going to hate that, so I'm contemplating leveling up my characters at least once before I tackle that.  These roo-roo's I'm encountering only yield 22 ExP, though, so it'll be a while.

 

Oh, and in case anyone's curious.....my partner is Elie.  However, I was at a part of the game where I could choose Randy or Tio, and by utilizing separate save files, I was able to lock in the in-game achievements.  I don't think achievements mean much, and I don't think they carry over into the next game, but it's still a fun little excuse.  Too bad there aren't achievements after killing 2,000 monsters, which would be more up my alley....but hey.

 

14 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Er...yes...it's Kilika. As her name and appearance would suggest. You're not mistaking anything, it's just her.

Oh.

 

I think I forgot her name at one point, too.  I thought to myself "Isn't she that chick that was with...what's his name?  Zin?" and I forgot that Zin was the name.  Of the big guy from TitS, I mean.

 

14 hours ago, Zemekis said:

I'm just gonna drop this point since we're clearly miscommunicating.

 

14 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Do you still record 100% of your gameplay?

On Switch, that's pretty much an impossibility, because it can only capture up to 30 seconds, and on an SD Card (at least the one I have, the red 128GB microSDXC with the Mushroom), it can only store 1,000 clips, regardless of length.  I have been capturing screenshots and clips during my playthrough, but really it's a "bad habit".  If I was to share my videos of my playthrough, you'd think I was being sporadic and impulsive with what I choose to capture.  The screencaps I've taken have more of a consistency to them.

 

I think capturing my Trails gameplay will be a possibility when I play the Trails of Cold Steel series, because it'll be on PS5, which has a pretty good video-capture capability.  From what I've noticed, it won't cut out bits while recording, which was something I think the PS4 did.  Plus, the PS5 will capture videos in 60fps.  But, lest you all get excited, know that I am uncertain as to when I will begin the Cold Steel series.

 

15 hours ago, Zemekis said:

<--- Irrelevant to the discussion but nobody is likely to complain.

I wonder if that outfit's available in a later Kiseki game.  If I can doll up my chicks, that would be awesome.

[Nekone]

8 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

I wonder if that outfit's available in a later Kiseki game.  If I can doll up my chicks, that would be awesome.

Nope. But, you'll start having options for costumes in the Cold Steel games.

[Zemekis]

18 hours ago, Dave55811 said:

I wonder if that outfit's available in a later Kiseki game.  If I can doll up my chicks, that would be awesome.

 

9 hours ago, Nekone said:

Nope.

It sort of is, akshually . It's from Akatsuki no Kiseki, aka Trails at Sunrise.
It's a Browser game. The Christmas outfits for Elie & Tio (as well as a festival Yukata for Estelle!) can be viewed here: Live Site | Archive

 

I'm not sure if it's canon, and an English localization hasn't been released anyway. I just like to browse the Gallery because there's a lot of good female 'talent' on display!

I will play it if an official localization occurs.

 

9 hours ago, Nekone said:

You'll start having options for costumes in the Cold Steel games.

Yep! You can play dress up in the Cold Steel games onwards I think. I don't mess with it much, but you can unlock some costume options in-game or by importing a Clear save if I recall. Then there are DLC costumes. They took a page out of the "Tales of" playbook with these. It's what you'd expect, swimsuits & cat ears type stuff, lol.

[Dave55811]

EDIT/UPDATE (2024/07/16; 13:10CST)

Last night (2024/07/15; 6:43PMCST), I beat Trails from Zero.

 

Due to a disappointing revelation that EDF6 will not be released physically in the West, I'm thinking of getting started on Trails to Azure.  Personally, I've got other projects that need tackling, but Kiseki just has that effect on me, just like what happened after I beat Trails FC, that I need to continue this good shit.  The end of Trails from Zero revealed a whole lot of new things, and I'm anxious to see if it all gets explored in Trails to Azure....at least, I am eager to see how Trails to Azure unfolds.

First there was Ouroboros, and now there's this D∴G group.  Apparently, D∴G was the owner of one of their lodges, Paradise.  Curiously, the "services" provided by Paradise went against Dr. Guenter's principals....though, hypothetically, D∴G would be able to create leverage against its customers, who were influential figureheads throughout Zemuria.  So, if the leader of a country purchased Paradise's services, D∴G would be able to keep that leader in check, threatening to release those records if the leader got out of line with what D∴G wanted out of them.  Honestly, there's something very familiar about that, albeit only based on hearsay on social media, but I think I should stop the IRL comparisons here.

In fact, I ought to "clean up my act" with regards to my Kiseki threads; I understand that I'm sort of treating these threads of mine like personal blogs.  I'll admit it.  I think it's a practice I've had for as long as I've been on Internet forums.  Despite how these threads may come off to you guys, I always welcome questions, comments, concerns, and criticisms....as long as they're relevant to the topic at hand, of course.

 

Original post from 2024/07/12; 11:39CST:

Spoiler

So now I'm on Ch.4.  I mean, the chapter after the Intermission.  After completing the Intermission chapter, I determined that I was about 69% into the game.

 

KeA is precious.

 

On 7/11/2024 at 10:25 PM, Nekone said:

Nope. But, you'll start having options for costumes in the Cold Steel games.

That makes sense, since that's when the series starts going polygonal, and the characters are no longer sprites, but models.

 

Though, as much as I appreciate that bit of info, I remembered that these games feature DLC.  I think some of the DLC features clothes for your characters.  Though I don't really plan to dabble in DLC for the Kiseki series, I think I'm deprived of the option to begin with.....because, see, these games I ordered are from a different region.  I had this problem with Custom Mech Wars; I can't buy DLC for the game, because my copy is from Asia.  You'd think that the solution would be to just log onto my "Hong Kong account" and make those purchases from there....but, you need to set up a payment method, which requires entering the address of the cardholder.  Because the locale is set to Hong Kong, I can't use my own address, because Hong Kong uses a different address system.

Granted, my copies of Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure, and Trails of Cold Steel I & II are European-region (PAL?).  However, I'm certain that DLC, at least for Cold Steel I & II, are relegated to the regions from which my copies originated.  My copy of Trails of Cold Steel III & IV is NTSC, though, so I guess there's hope for me yet.

 

Fuck; it just hit me, that, what if my clear data won't carry over because of region differences?....actually, let's all just take this one step at a time, please?...

 

On 7/12/2024 at 8:15 AM, Zemekis said:

 

It sort of is, akshually . It's from Akatsuki no Kiseki, aka Trails at Sunrise.
It's a Browser game. The Christmas outfits for Elie & Tio (as well as a festival Yukata for Estelle!) can be viewed here: Live Site | Archive

 

I'm not sure if it's canon, and an English localization hasn't been released anyway. I just like to browse the Gallery because there's a lot of good female 'talent' on display!

I will play it if an official localization occurs.

 

Yep! You can play dress up in the Cold Steel games onwards I think. I don't mess with it much, but you can unlock some costume options in-game or by importing a Clear save if I recall. Then there are DLC costumes. They took a page out of the "Tales of" playbook with these. It's what you'd expect, swimsuits & cat ears type stuff, lol.

Yeah, no; browser games aren't my thing.  Neither are gacha's.  Unfortunately, browser games and gacha's are where the hot anime waifus are....even if you have to pay to roll the dice, or however that works.

Feel free to engage with the old content here if you choose, especially since I have certain questions that need addressing....specifically with concern to whether or not save-files from PAL will be compatible with NTSC.  Compared to the DLC situation, I think the question about save-files carrying over is a more serious concern.

Edited July 16 by Dave55811
Updated my post, detailing having beaten Trails from Zero.

[Zemekis]

On 7/12/2024 at 12:39 PM, Dave55811 said:

EDIT/UPDATE (2024/07/16; 13:10CST)

Last night (2024/07/15; 6:43PMCST), I beat Trails from Zero.

Nice. Why does that feel like it was super fast? Now that you made a point out of it in the 3rd thread, you have to tell us what your final playtime was! Traditions must be upheld.

 

On 7/12/2024 at 12:39 PM, Dave55811 said:

EDF6 will not be released physically in the West

Yuck. Will there be an English-language physical Asian release?

 

The ending of Zero is pretty cool, since a lot of the game is setup. Each new arc by necessity must spend a good portion of its runtime introducing characters and fleshing them out. It's only towards the end of Zero that the "good stuff" gets going, but from here on out it gets even more rewarding. I prefer Azure to Zero, so I think you have a lot to look forward to. Perhaps a break is in order after Azure so you don't rush through too much or burn out on the series? 

 

On 7/12/2024 at 12:39 PM, Dave55811 said:

I ought to "clean up my act" with regards to my Kiseki threads

It's likely that people are just busy (I know I certainly have been with birthdays & a few big issues at work...), but it does help if you give people a hook with which to respond. Tossing in questions or open-ended comments that people can reply to helps. If you only post blog-like status updates, the pressure is on the reader to engage and it's then all about you. A mix of both is key, I think.

 

On 7/12/2024 at 12:39 PM, Dave55811 said:

especially since I have certain questions that need addressing....specifically with concern to whether or not save-files from PAL will be compatible with NTSC.  Compared to the DLC situation, I think the question about save-files carrying over is a more serious concern.

Not sure about this myself, but I think saves from different regions aren't compatible from one to the next. That's been my experience with other games in the past, although I haven't tried it with Trails in particular.

 

On 7/12/2024 at 12:39 PM, Dave55811 said:

Honestly, there's something very familiar about that, albeit only based on hearsay on social media, but I think I should stop the IRL comparisons here.

Yeah, be careful! You might get Epstein Foundation'd. 

[Koby]

Well I do always recommend playing the franchise on PC. It's the only method that has ALL of them after all and you don't have to worry about physical this or digital that or regions and whatnot, everything just works. Unfortunately it does sound like you'll not be able to carry over saves and this is extremely unfortunate because Trails into Reverie actually loads saves from Zero, Azure, Cold Steel 3, and Cold Steel 4. So without having all of them on the same platform, you're going to really miss out when it comes to save bonuses in Reverie.

[Dave55811]

11 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Not sure about this myself, but I think saves from different regions aren't compatible from one to the next. That's been my experience with other games in the past, although I haven't tried it with Trails in particular.

FUCK.

 

That's it.  I'm not happy.

 

I had a feeling I was taking a risk with getting different regions of these games, but I didn't know what they were.  I was getting different regions because I had assumed that the NTSC versions were pozzed up.  I think this explains why I was nagging like "Should I get this or should I get that?" months back.....though, at the time, that was out of concern as to which versions are unpozzed.

 

11 hours ago, Koby said:

So without having all of them on the same platform, you're going to really miss out when it comes to save bonuses in Reverie.

Ugh; if I remember correctly, one of the Cold Steel games lets you carry over something from the Crossbell Arc....or maybe I'm mistaking it for Trails into Reverie, the one you brought up.  I should be receiving Trails through Daybreak at the end of this month, which is NTSC, so that should amount to something.  But, it sounds like I better stick with NTSC from here on in, which will be a real shame, because I heard that a translator snuck something into Daybreak.

 

My apologies, but things are feeling a bit heated.  Right now, I'm thinking that I should order the NTSC versions of Cold Steel I & II.  But, I'll sit on that for a while.

 

Anyway....

 

12 hours ago, Zemekis said:

It's likely that people are just busy (I know I certainly have been with birthdays & a few big issues at work...), but it does help if you give people a hook with which to respond. Tossing in questions or open-ended comments that people can reply to helps. If you only post blog-like status updates, the pressure is on the reader to engage and it's then all about you. A mix of both is key, I think.

That's fair, honestly.  I get that everybody has jobs and that they have personal matters to attend to.

 

11 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Nice. Why does that feel like it was super fast? Now that you made a point out of it in the 3rd thread, you have to tell us what your final playtime was! Traditions must be upheld.

74:30:47.

 

You're right; I felt like I whizzed through this game.  I started on June 27th, and finished it on the 15th this month, which is about three weeks.  This could be attributed to me taking advantage of the high-speed mode; it makes grinding and going back and forth and back and forth much simpler.  I understand that this function existed in the TitS games, and, believe it or else, I didn't discover it until I was almost done with Trails 3rd.

 

12 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Yuck. Will there be an English-language physical Asian release?

Oh there is a physical release available on Playasia.  There's even one with English language.  Unfortunately, if the game is from a different region, I won't be able to access any future DLC.  EDF5's DLC was worth engaging in, because some of that new content included new weapons, and so I would've anticipated this with EDF6.  But, EDF6 will only be available digitally here in the West, and I don't want a fuckin' digital copy.  Games should be physical, you know?

 

12 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Perhaps a break is in order after Azure so you don't rush through too much or burn out on the series?

Maybe.  I said I was going to take a break after Trails 3rd, but I hopped back on sooner than I had planned.  But, given the current circumstances, maybe I should take a break after Trails to Azure, because I'll have some shit to sort out concerning how to maintain my consistency with the Kiseki experience....which, admittedly, is already a screw-up, since the Crossbell Arc is not only a different region but a different platform, yet somehow I'll get over being unable to carry over my data into the Erebonia Arc and/or whatever future arc.

 

It sounds like I better get NTSC copies of Kiseki from here on in....preferably for PlayStation.  I may run into pozzed moments, like translators sneaking in familiar socio-political jargon that has nothing to do with a scene's original context, but I'll just have to cut my losses, or rather just suck it up and carry on.
 

12 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Yeah, be careful! You might get Epstein Foundation'd. 

Professor Epstein didn't kill himself.  I know.  But, I stopped because I didn't want anyone thinking I was injecting political shit into the thread.

[Zemekis]

34 minutes ago, Dave55811 said:

I was getting different regions because I had assumed that the NTSC versions were pozzed up.  I think this explains why I was nagging like "Should I get this or should I get that?" months back.....though, at the time, that was out of concern as to which versions are unpozzed.

Regardless of all that, I did warn you about the region incompatibility. I also said that the translation wouldn't be more or less affected based on which region you purchase. If I recall, you actually got the foreign releases because that's what was available on PlayAsia? As usual, you did your thing and perhaps rushed a bit 

 

36 minutes ago, Dave55811 said:

My apologies, but things are feeling a bit heated.

I think you're taking this way too seriously. The clear save bonuses are minor in the grand scheme of things. I care a lot less about the Mira/Sepith/Accessories (although I looked up what Koby was talking about and some of them are quite powerful) than Story-related carryover. If it bothers you a lot, consider getting all the games in a straight line on one console. Seems like you've settled on Switch, so perhaps that's the route? All one region, one console (after the Liberl Arc, anyway). The regions aren't going to have more or less woke English dialogue if that's what you're afraid of. I now know that the Switch versions of Zero/Azure are better than the PS5 ones, but I got them on PS5 because I have CS I - IV on PlayStation so it was more consistent with my lineup.

 

41 minutes ago, Dave55811 said:

Games should be physical, you know?

I agree, but I think you're giving up a little too early here. If you get an Asia region EDF copy, what's stopping you from making a PSN account for that region and purchasing DLC that way? Are there perhaps methods to fund your account wallet (paypal?) that will act as a workaround if foreign cards aren't allowed? Perhaps look into that if you haven't already. Is the game not worth playing sans DLC?

 

44 minutes ago, Dave55811 said:

74:30:47.

 

You're right; I felt like I whizzed through this game.

The turbo mode + smooth fast-travel system certainly improve on playtime in the sense that there's far less waste in Zero as compared to TitS. I think the Cold Steel games feature a fast-forward now? They didn't when I played I & II (PS3). You've really been doing nothing but playing Trails, you should probably work on some MMD or EDF because you're going a bit nuts. Scratch the itch for Azure then let off some steam, I say.

49 minutes ago, Dave55811 said:

I didn't want anyone thinking I was injecting political shit into the thread.

Too late for that 

[Koby]

If it's any constellation. Cold Steel 1 carries over nothing. Cold Steel 2 carries over only from Cold Steel 1. Cold Steel 3 carries over nothing. Cold Steel 4 carries over from Cold Steel 1, 2, and 3.

 

So the only games you've messed up getting all the carry over bonuses for thus far is only Azure and Reverie... But Reverie would've probably been that way regardless of region considering you're probably jumping between Switch and PS4/PS5. That's the great thing about PCs, not having to jump between consoles or rebuy the game with a slight so-called "remaster" each console generation they port it to. On PC a lot of these games have included graphical feature settings for future proofing the titles (quality settings that even modern GPUs can't handle well but assumed future GPUs will be capable).

[Dave55811]

  

Right now I'm just thinking of Mel Blanc going "OOOOOOOOOO!".  For those who don't know what I'm talking about, you can get a proper thampling of it at 0:09 - 0:10 from thith legendary video I thaw two yearth ago.  Anyway, the reason?  Here it comes.

 

44 minutes ago, Zemekis said:

Regardless of all that, I did warn you about the region incompatibility. I also said that the translation wouldn't be more or less affected based on which region you purchase. If I recall, you actually got the foreign releases because that's what was available on PlayAsia? As usual, you did your thing and perhaps rushed a bit 

I have reason to believe that you did warn me about certain issues that would arise if I were to get my Kiseki games from different regions.  If you did, though, most of it flew over my head.  I was more concerned about content being pozzed up, but what didn't occur to me was more technical shit, such as save data compatibility.

 

57 minutes ago, Zemekis said:

I think you're taking this way too seriously. The clear save bonuses are minor in the grand scheme of things. I care a lot less about the Mira/Sepith/Accessories (although I looked up what Koby was talking about and some of them are quite powerful) than Story-related carryover. If it bothers you a lot, consider getting all the games in a straight line on one console. Seems like you've settled on Switch, so perhaps that's the route? All one region, one console (after the Liberl Arc, anyway). The regions aren't going to have more or less woke English dialogue if that's what you're afraid of. I now know that the Switch versions of Zero/Azure are better than the PS5 ones, but I got them on PS5 because I have CS I - IV on PlayStation so it was more consistent with my lineup.

To think....the reason I got the Crossbell Arc games for Switch was because I wanted something that automatically advances spoken dialogue.  The water shader effects are a nice thing, at least in the sense that the game has better graphics, but graphical options may not be as big of a necessity as auto-advancing spoken dialogue.  I think this revelation that a Kiseki game could carry over data from not just the previous entry but also other previous entries is news to me....unless you spoke to me about that many months prior, and if you did, that flew over my head.

 

I was going to write a long-ass paragraph detailing what causes things to fly over my head, but that would result in a bit of a sob-story, or at least opening up about myself in some awkward capacity, so I'll refrain for now.  One thing I will say is that you are correct in claiming that I'm taking this way too seriously....at least, taking the whole "carrying over data" thing seriously.  Consistency is something I take pride in, and it is something I certainly implement in videogames.  Kiseki is no exception.  Concerning the issue with carrying over data from previous entries, I don't know how to describe it without sounding silly.  I don't think there's anything to show for it, other than getting special items, but there's something about "my experience being in a save file", and since Kiseki allows for you to transfer data to a subsequent entry is pretty awesome, but also very rare.  I think the last time I ever saw a game series do this was Dead Space, which would've been 2008, 2011, and 2013.  Before that, there was the Armored Core games on PSX....

....but, most especially concerning carrying over data from a previous game, wouldn't that be essential for the Kiseki games?  I thought that was the case for TitS; if you didn't carry over your stats from the previous game, the game would've whupped your ass all over the place, because the enemies at the start of Trails SC were powerful, even though I carried over my stats from Trails FC.

 

1 hour ago, Zemekis said:

I agree, but I think you're giving up a little too early here. If you get an Asia region EDF copy, what's stopping you from making a PSN account for that region and purchasing DLC that way? Are there perhaps methods to fund your account wallet (paypal?) that will act as a workaround if foreign cards aren't allowed? Perhaps look into that if you haven't already. Is the game not worth playing sans DLC?

Maybe I could stand to do some more research, even if I turn up some links from pReddit, but the problem involves having to set up an address for my Hong Kong account.  I don't know if I can still use the same card I use for my regular account, but I can't prove that it works unless I set up an address.  I can't use my regular home address for my Hong Kong account.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I was trying to set up my payment method on my Hong Kong account, and when I had to enter in an address, I gave up.

EDF6 would surely be a pleasant experience, but knowing me, after I plow through it, I'll be craving more, and the DLC would provide for some new content when that time comes.  At least the higher difficulty levels will provide for some replay value; I assume they unlock after beating the game once, like in EDF5, but I don't know.  As for DLC, unless anybody here has some advice, I'll just have to research more on this ordeal with region-locked(?) DLC's.

 

1 hour ago, Zemekis said:

You've really been doing nothing but playing Trails, you should probably work on some MMD or EDF because you're going a bit nuts. Scratch the itch for Azure then let off some steam, I say.

Well, maybe.  There have been games between some Kiseki games, but I think I could consider 2024 my own little "Trails Year", or "Kiseki Year".  And what a good year it's been, so far.  Kiseki is some good shit, but perhaps the regretful part is that it has taken over my life in some capacity.....which shouldn't be bad, because Kiseki is by no means a terrible game.  Because of Kiseki, I missed out on a trailer for Death Stranding, but I've decided that I should refrain from watching those trailers since, per what I've seen of trailers for Kojima-san's upcoming games, the trailers tend to reveal everything, often things that you will experience early on in the game.

 

I don't know.  Maybe after Trails to Azure, I should take a break from Kiseki.  MMD has been pretty slow this year because of Kiseki, but I think the most recent circumstances are thee let-down.  The "most recent circumstances" in question involves Niconico being inactive since June 8th, as a result of some intricate cyberattack on not just the platform, but also Kadokawa Corporation (who owns DWANGO Co., Ltd., and subsequently Niconico).  Niconico being down has thrown me for a loop, but I could still work on some MMD projects, and attributing my inactivity with MMD to Niconico being down (besides gaming) is just a testament to how I'm weird with how I go about things.

 

57 minutes ago, Koby said:

If it's any constellation. Cold Steel 1 carries over nothing. Cold Steel 2 carries over only from Cold Steel 1. Cold Steel 3 carries over nothing. Cold Steel 4 carries over from Cold Steel 1, 2, and 3.

 

So the only games you've messed up getting all the carry over bonuses for thus far is only Azure and Reverie... But Reverie would've probably been that way regardless of region considering you're probably jumping between Switch and PS4/PS5. That's the great thing about PCs, not having to jump between consoles or rebuy the game with a slight so-called "remaster" each console generation they port it to. On PC a lot of these games have included graphical feature settings for future proofing the titles (quality settings that even modern GPUs can't handle well but assumed future GPUs will be capable).

In fairness, my concern is being able to carry over my shit throughout the Cold Steel series.  I think I should take this opportunity to drop a little hint and say that I have resolved my little situation concerning consistency with Trails of Cold Steel.

 

I don't know what Trails into Reverie will entail.  I'll just cross that bridge when I get there.

 

I can agree that Kiseki is best experienced on PC, especially if there are no region-differences in PC games, meaning that you can have a consistent line-up of Kiseki games.  My issue with PC games, though, is that it's all digital.  I kind of have trust issues with digital games.  Granted, I purchased the TitS games on GOG, so my copies of TitS are digital, but to me the exception is that there isn't any DRM shit, which I think Steam has a notoriety for.  Digital games are the future, and that doesn't sit well with me....but, I fear that's another topic for another time.

[Koby]

5 minutes ago, Dave55811 said:

I can agree that Kiseki is best experienced on PC, especially if there are no region-differences in PC games, meaning that you can have a consistent line-up of Kiseki games.  My issue with PC games, though, is that it's all digital.  I kind of have trust issues with digital games.  Granted, I purchased the TitS games on GOG, so my copies of TitS are digital, but to me the exception is that there isn't any DRM shit, which I think Steam has a notoriety for.  Digital games are the future, and that doesn't sit well with me....but, I fear that's another topic for another time.

Kiseki is DRM-free on all platforms, even Steam. Steam DRM is optional btw and most devs actually choose not to use it. In any case with Kiseki it's the exact same build across all PC platforms and comes bundled with their APIs regardless of which you buy from, but they can all be deleted and the game run fine. The devs who built the PC ports have confirmed this multiple times. So yeah, no DRM in any of the games.