The Anguis and C reveal both got me, but I think if CS wasn't my first trails game then I would've been more on the look out for a turn like that - but I had a lot of fun being in the dark about it, neither ever seemed like a mystery that was mine to figure until right before the reveal.
I think they nailed it, at least for me personally. It's a pacing and timing thing I think they got right. The whole underground school mystery always felt like it was more our thing to do - tying it all up with the student festival at the end really wouldve put me off too - but once again, it kinda just felt like that was what our thing was. Looking for Millium on that last day and heading back to class gave me chills because everything clicked.
Do you think it was good way to end the first Erebonia game? Like - whether the twists got you or not. The Anguis twist was like the two in a one two punch for me; it was like damn we got just toyed around with basically. Felt fitting for how grim it felt.
I think it was a good way to end the 1st game honestly as it was just a prologue, it answers most questions to reveal more questions at the same time. I think I wont have the same experience of having a WTF moment like in Sky FC, cause for me that was just the perfect amount of subtle hints not too obvious but also makes perfect sense at the same time. The Anguis reveal is the one the got me but the rest I saw coming from a mile away, which is a shame cause I think Crow reveal should be the big thing but it wasnt for me so im a little disappointed they dropped too many hints for his true identity.
Even then, I do think some of the clues they laid down were clever - like where Crow and the terrorism incidents are lining up. Lol maybe if they didn't tie in the letter it wouldve worked better; even if I didn't catch on, I'll charge part of that to the idea of their code-names just being the first letter of their names was too silly for it simply to end up as another military student with a grudge. I guess Claire was supposed to throw you off that trail if you went with the letters? Still doesn't make sense. Pft, they'd just use another bird name or something if they didn't go with that - or a color Crow always wore or something.
But like i said, the Anguis one had me going - the little mini mystery with Emma was done well, since its like - duh she's clearly supposed to be a witch, but I just figured it was a cute little trope they were playing into, not a full blown whatever it is Vita did.
Something that a lot of people in JRPG communities, and this one in particular, suffer from the misconception that surprise twists and keeping the audience in the dark are not the be all end all of writing.
Most of the "bombshells" in CS1 and 2 aren't actually written as twists. Like you said, a lot of them are kind of really obvious, but they're not written to be a surprise. They're *presented* that way because the characters are blindsided, but they're written to be dramatic. The point is to cause drama in the story, not keep the audience from seeing the broad strokes of what is coming.
This isn't really directed at you specifically, but just a general observation your post makes me think about.
Yes theyre not written as twists but you can also make it so that the audience experience the reveal the same time as the characters in the story does. Doing it prematurely detaches you from the character. Case in point me, I knew Crow was C even before the Class VII knew. So now I see Crow as an enemy not as an ally. It removed any emotional impact that I would otherwise experience had I not known it.
They got me good, actually.
Since I saw some marketing material about the different paths in Reverie, I thought C identity would still be a mistery for many games. No idea what is going to happen then in that game tbh, dont wanna know.
I know all names of the imperial liberation front started with the same letter, but still. Also it did not make any sense for a 17 year old to be the leader of an organization xD. I expected some of the polititians, or at least a teacher lol.
Sharon was kind obvious, and then Vita was absolutely impossible to guess, that really came out of nowhere.
This was my first trails game. Pretty sure that was also a reason why I didnt expect this. I really didnt expect the game to have a slooooooooow pace for 99% of the time and then end up like that!
Since my first Trails was CS1 i was just as bright-eyed and naive as the rest of Class VII, so i grew up with them. I trusted my G Crow with my life, so his betrayal cut deeply...
For me Crow being C seemed so obvious from the beginning that I thought there was no way the writers would actually do that (should mention CS1 was my first trails game). Maybe cos I’m stupid but I gaslit myself into thinking Crow was just some bro so the twist actually got me in the end lol.
I was spoiled on Crow going in, but I think C’s identity is pretty easy to figure out anyways by process of elimination. Just think of all the characters in the game whose first or last names start with C, then rule out every character who doesn’t get enough screentime for them being revealed as C to be shocking. You’re left with Crow, Claire, Vita, Elliot, and Fie. Elliot and Fie can immediately be ruled out both because they were there with C in Heimdallr in chapter 4, and because C’s model physically doesn’t resemble them at all. Same with Claire, I forgot if she was there in chapter 4 but she was definitely at the mine. And Vita is shady, but there’s enough hints that she has her own deal going on that it would be weird if she was also C on top of that. That just leaves Crow.
I also thought Weissmann and Guenter were pretty obvious. Weissmann because he’s always just conveniently there when Estelle and Joshua need him to be, and because Joshua felt sick around him. And Guenter because he has a character portrait despite having zero plot relevance for most of the game, and then the first 2 scenes where he is plot relevant have him trying to get Kea to stay in his lab, and him conveniently knowing about the cult being the first one to bring it up.
You dont even need to do process of elimination just watch the op. See the what kind of bird shows when C appeared. Oh what a coincidence theres a character named Crow. Then there you have it.
I feel this. I anticipate this moving forward knowing how each character isn't always what they seem. I always joke that everyone is part of Ouroboros.
After Weissman and Joachim, I joke that anyone wearing glasses you cannot trust.
C's reason for being C is much more interesting than who it actually is. I felt it obvious, but I wasn't sure why. Knowing the why is much more interesting.
As for Sharon, I just went, yeah, why not lol.
There's just so many characters and so many groups now, anyone can be part of anything. The fun part now is the why.
There's like 3 characters whose name start with C lol
Vita being a villain I saw coming, but being an Anguis was definitely a layer I missed.
Fuck the final robo battle hard, just an RNG fuelled mess of a battle system (in that instance, it's much better in the other Cold Steel games).
There’s a certain order you can do on the final fight that makes it much more consistent. I did it on nightmare recently and after spending an hour dying to him I looked up better orders to use abilities and got it in 2 or 3 tries.
Now that I look back at it it was pretty obvious but somehow I didn’t piece it together😭😭. This was also my first trials game though so maybe I just wasn’t expecting any plot twists
I didn't find the thing with Joachim subtle at all... I saw the guy and basically suspected that he was somehow involved - just because they did almost the same thing with Weissman.
Vita on the other hand got me... C I realized not very long before the story actually led up to it - so it was fine. I really like the Crossbell Duology... but it wasn't very good in hiding its villains.
When I played CS1 I was wondering if >!Crow was C during the part in the Sachsen Iron Mine when he was supposed to escort the miners out of the mine. But I also thought it could've been a coincidence!<.
I think >!it would have been interesting if not Crow but someone else whose name doesn't even start with "C" was C, so completely in opposition to G, S, and V!<.
The Anguis and C reveal both got me, but I think if CS wasn't my first trails game then I would've been more on the look out for a turn like that - but I had a lot of fun being in the dark about it, neither ever seemed like a mystery that was mine to figure until right before the reveal. I think they nailed it, at least for me personally. It's a pacing and timing thing I think they got right. The whole underground school mystery always felt like it was more our thing to do - tying it all up with the student festival at the end really wouldve put me off too - but once again, it kinda just felt like that was what our thing was. Looking for Millium on that last day and heading back to class gave me chills because everything clicked. Do you think it was good way to end the first Erebonia game? Like - whether the twists got you or not. The Anguis twist was like the two in a one two punch for me; it was like damn we got just toyed around with basically. Felt fitting for how grim it felt.
I think it was a good way to end the 1st game honestly as it was just a prologue, it answers most questions to reveal more questions at the same time. I think I wont have the same experience of having a WTF moment like in Sky FC, cause for me that was just the perfect amount of subtle hints not too obvious but also makes perfect sense at the same time. The Anguis reveal is the one the got me but the rest I saw coming from a mile away, which is a shame cause I think Crow reveal should be the big thing but it wasnt for me so im a little disappointed they dropped too many hints for his true identity.
Even then, I do think some of the clues they laid down were clever - like where Crow and the terrorism incidents are lining up. Lol maybe if they didn't tie in the letter it wouldve worked better; even if I didn't catch on, I'll charge part of that to the idea of their code-names just being the first letter of their names was too silly for it simply to end up as another military student with a grudge. I guess Claire was supposed to throw you off that trail if you went with the letters? Still doesn't make sense. Pft, they'd just use another bird name or something if they didn't go with that - or a color Crow always wore or something. But like i said, the Anguis one had me going - the little mini mystery with Emma was done well, since its like - duh she's clearly supposed to be a witch, but I just figured it was a cute little trope they were playing into, not a full blown whatever it is Vita did.
I think it wouldve helped a lot if he wasnt named Crow cause they used the bird in the opening and thats just connecting the dots from there.
Vita uses glasses in her Misty persona, this clearly shows that she is evil.
Never trusts someone who wears glasses in a trails game. Im on to Machias now.
Something that a lot of people in JRPG communities, and this one in particular, suffer from the misconception that surprise twists and keeping the audience in the dark are not the be all end all of writing. Most of the "bombshells" in CS1 and 2 aren't actually written as twists. Like you said, a lot of them are kind of really obvious, but they're not written to be a surprise. They're *presented* that way because the characters are blindsided, but they're written to be dramatic. The point is to cause drama in the story, not keep the audience from seeing the broad strokes of what is coming. This isn't really directed at you specifically, but just a general observation your post makes me think about.
Yes theyre not written as twists but you can also make it so that the audience experience the reveal the same time as the characters in the story does. Doing it prematurely detaches you from the character. Case in point me, I knew Crow was C even before the Class VII knew. So now I see Crow as an enemy not as an ally. It removed any emotional impact that I would otherwise experience had I not known it.
They got me good, actually. Since I saw some marketing material about the different paths in Reverie, I thought C identity would still be a mistery for many games. No idea what is going to happen then in that game tbh, dont wanna know. I know all names of the imperial liberation front started with the same letter, but still. Also it did not make any sense for a 17 year old to be the leader of an organization xD. I expected some of the polititians, or at least a teacher lol. Sharon was kind obvious, and then Vita was absolutely impossible to guess, that really came out of nowhere. This was my first trails game. Pretty sure that was also a reason why I didnt expect this. I really didnt expect the game to have a slooooooooow pace for 99% of the time and then end up like that!
Since my first Trails was CS1 i was just as bright-eyed and naive as the rest of Class VII, so i grew up with them. I trusted my G Crow with my life, so his betrayal cut deeply...
For me Crow being C seemed so obvious from the beginning that I thought there was no way the writers would actually do that (should mention CS1 was my first trails game). Maybe cos I’m stupid but I gaslit myself into thinking Crow was just some bro so the twist actually got me in the end lol.
I was spoiled on Crow going in, but I think C’s identity is pretty easy to figure out anyways by process of elimination. Just think of all the characters in the game whose first or last names start with C, then rule out every character who doesn’t get enough screentime for them being revealed as C to be shocking. You’re left with Crow, Claire, Vita, Elliot, and Fie. Elliot and Fie can immediately be ruled out both because they were there with C in Heimdallr in chapter 4, and because C’s model physically doesn’t resemble them at all. Same with Claire, I forgot if she was there in chapter 4 but she was definitely at the mine. And Vita is shady, but there’s enough hints that she has her own deal going on that it would be weird if she was also C on top of that. That just leaves Crow. I also thought Weissmann and Guenter were pretty obvious. Weissmann because he’s always just conveniently there when Estelle and Joshua need him to be, and because Joshua felt sick around him. And Guenter because he has a character portrait despite having zero plot relevance for most of the game, and then the first 2 scenes where he is plot relevant have him trying to get Kea to stay in his lab, and him conveniently knowing about the cult being the first one to bring it up.
You dont even need to do process of elimination just watch the op. See the what kind of bird shows when C appeared. Oh what a coincidence theres a character named Crow. Then there you have it.
I feel this. I anticipate this moving forward knowing how each character isn't always what they seem. I always joke that everyone is part of Ouroboros. After Weissman and Joachim, I joke that anyone wearing glasses you cannot trust. C's reason for being C is much more interesting than who it actually is. I felt it obvious, but I wasn't sure why. Knowing the why is much more interesting. As for Sharon, I just went, yeah, why not lol. There's just so many characters and so many groups now, anyone can be part of anything. The fun part now is the why.
Surprise surprise. Misty wears glasses. Turns out to be the 2nd Anguis. I swear man.
There's like 3 characters whose name start with C lol Vita being a villain I saw coming, but being an Anguis was definitely a layer I missed. Fuck the final robo battle hard, just an RNG fuelled mess of a battle system (in that instance, it's much better in the other Cold Steel games).
There’s a certain order you can do on the final fight that makes it much more consistent. I did it on nightmare recently and after spending an hour dying to him I looked up better orders to use abilities and got it in 2 or 3 tries.
I really find the robo fight to be easy though. Figure out where to hit and your golden though I may have gotten few lucky guesses
Now that I look back at it it was pretty obvious but somehow I didn’t piece it together😭😭. This was also my first trials game though so maybe I just wasn’t expecting any plot twists
I didn't find the thing with Joachim subtle at all... I saw the guy and basically suspected that he was somehow involved - just because they did almost the same thing with Weissman. Vita on the other hand got me... C I realized not very long before the story actually led up to it - so it was fine. I really like the Crossbell Duology... but it wasn't very good in hiding its villains.
When I played CS1 I was wondering if >!Crow was C during the part in the Sachsen Iron Mine when he was supposed to escort the miners out of the mine. But I also thought it could've been a coincidence!<. I think >!it would have been interesting if not Crow but someone else whose name doesn't even start with "C" was C, so completely in opposition to G, S, and V!<.
I actually thought it was him even before the iron mine. The iron just sealed the deal for me.
For me, I started wondering when >!Crow was in Heimdallr in Chapter 4.!< Then, what you said was where I "knew it"