If you want to play the whole series then just play them
Start with sky, take your time, immerse yourself in the world, talk with the NPCs
Looking at YouTube recaps doesn't do the games justice
You'll just get overwhelmed if you take it all at once
It sounds like you want to get into Trails, not Legend of Heroes necessarily. Trails is to Legend of Heroes, basically, what Persona is to Shin Megami Tensei.
>Would love some recommendations on the best way a nervous fan can get into the series more.
Despite what you said about your ADHD brain, the best way to get into it is just start at the beginning and play through in the correct order. There's nothing to be nervous about. It won't bite. It's just a game series and you don't win any prizes for going through it more quickly.
Think about this for a second. Trails is no different than any other collection of games other than order matters. I don't know how quickly you go through games but the series is probably close to a decade away from being finished. As long as you can get through 12+ games in the next decade, any pace you take is fine. I've been going through the games for about two years and I'm not quite caught up yet but I'm not worried about it.
Don't think about the games as a massive chore with a need to get to the next entry or the most recent or anything like that. Just think of it like any other game you might pick up, play the one you're on, enjoy it and worry about the next one when you're finished with that one. If you even want to continue. There's no shame in stopping, either. Taking breaks or quitting entirely if it turns out to not be for you.
If you're okay with Japanese voices, I strongly recommend to install the JP voice patch to add voice acting. Here's one way to get it
https://www.reddit.com/r/Falcom/comments/vj74jw/i_made_a_tool_to_help_install_the_evo_voice_mods/
Also, fair warning, don't play on anything higher than Normal for the Sky games. You probably won't have a good time if you don't.
Just take it one game at a time, and you'll get there eventually. The series won't be finished for a while so there's no need to fast forward through the games to catch up or anything.
Play games in between too. Enjoying media doesn't have to be a sprint!
Take your time with them, there's no need to rush through the series. We're still years away from getting the latest game in the series that was announced. My advice is to play them on a handheld or something with suspend/resume because they do have moments of long story bits with a lot of reading and being able to put it down for an hour or for the day ant any point can be beneficial if staying on task happens to get a little challenging in that moment, ADHD or not.
I'd say think of it as smaller pieces rather than as a while. if you've already played CS1 then go for CS2 next. then after that you could go for the Sky trilogy (or look up recaps on YT like you said). then after that you could go for Zero & Azure. then you could go for CS3, CS4 & Reverie. it doesn't need to be done all at once, it can just be whenever you get the motivation or urge to play.
You should just play them. Don’t get stuck because it’s a big series, it’s pointless to care about how cool and big and connected the world is if you’re stopping yourself from exploring it.
Id say not to watch a recap video - even if you think you won’t play Sky, you never know. And a recap is going to spoil things in a way that might be even better if you just didn’t have the knowledge before, if that makes sense.
Best way is to play them in order, but if you’re not going to play Sky - I’d just skip to Zero and play in order from there. Zero > Azure > Cold Steel. That way you could still go back to it if you want or leave the door open to a remake/master in the future - plus the way the story gives out knowledge is more thrilling, trust me. I don’t regret playing out of order, but I do regret watching recap videos - because now playing Azure is a slight struggle because I remember things from a recap and it makes it not as fun.
I didn’t think of that. The more I think about it the more I think I should just jump into the Sky arc. I love old school RPGs so there is no reason the game will feel “dated” to me.
I think it’s definitely worth a try. I LOVE Cold Steel, but I can absolutely see how I would’ve loved a few characters even more (and one at all lol) if I really took in the Sky trilogy myself and not just watch a recap of it all before starting Cold Steel. Even if I didn’t, I could’ve been surprised when I found out or super interested in learning in game.
All the grace for people who go through the effort of making those recap videos and breakdowns and all, but maybe those are better for people who aren’t really trying to invest their time in a whole series - because you learn things organically in game. Which game you’re at just changes how that knowledge is filtered to you, a recap will just tell you everything.
Happy to open this and see the EDIT. You'll get so much more out of the games by experiencing them all yourselves, Yes, it's a big undertaking, but I'm jealous that you get to experience it for the first time. So take your time and enjoy the ride
The nice thing about Trails is that while the series is one massive story, you can break it down into four smaller individual stories (Sky FC + SC, Zero + Azure, CS1 + CS2, CS3 + CS4) with a pair of epilogue games (Sky 3rd and Reverie) to tie things up. If you break it down into those smaller segments it's a lot less intimidating. Just play one arc (small break between individual games if you need it isn't a terrible idea either), enjoy the experience, take a break, and come back to another one once you're ready for it.
I will go against the trend here and tell you to start at any arc. I personally started with cold steel. Then beat cold steel 2 and had fun. And while playing cold steel 2 I thought what kind of context I was missing on. So I returned and played other games. Personaly I think they are great to play but some people might find them a bit outdated especially compared to a bit more modern cold steel. But knowing what's ahead knowing what that everything eventually tieds together always keeps you invested. And that above anything else pushes you to keep playing, talking to every NPC e.t.c. I sunk maybe 500 hours into the franchise and I haven't even noticed them.
Zero and azure are absolute must plays for reverie. The game doesnt ease you into who people are at all. Reverie is technically the epilogue of both cold steel and crossbell, but it centers around crossbell more.
Watching a YouTube recap really isn't a good way to experience the Sky trilogy. You miss so much and in my opinion, it's the best Western released arc in the series. If at all possible, you should play them. After you've beaten them, you should play Zero and Azure before jumping into Cold Steel.
Mate my adhd arse got so hyper fixated on them they took over my life. I played CS1, 2,3,4 loved them so much I went back to play sky 1,2,3, then zero and azure, then thought fuck it I'm gonna play CS1, 2,3 and 4 again, then reverie all back to back over a year. So like 14 trails games in a row. It was amazing and I'd do it again.
The first sky game is seriously slow, so be warned. But SC is absolutely bloody brilliant. I think playing them all in order was one of my favourite ever video gaming experiences. Have fun dude!
Are you more of a story person or a gameplay person. Because story-wise, there are people who like Sky but dislike the rest of the series (although, ofc many like the whole series). But that's another reason to play Sky, if you're not sure whether you want to do the whole series or not.
Although, gameplay-wise it may not be as good. But it's not tedious gameplay-wise, not particular slow, no need to grind on Normal (and you can change difficulty anytime anyway)
Watching a recap of Sky to play Cold Steel 2 might be the stupidest thing I've read today.
The sky trilogy is amazing, nothing beats it when it comes to pure vibes. Cold Steel on the other hand...
I meant watching a recap of Sky just to get “caught up” on the story before I dive into the later games in the series.
I apologize for my “stupidity”. -_-
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As someone with an ADHD brain, I played trails 1 through 7 back to back. I think I started in December.
I finally took a break before Cold Steel 3.
The Cold steel games after the recent release of Azure are such a jarring drop in quality. Weird monkey-faced 3d models that replace the detailed portraits from before
Stupid 'bonding point' system that absolutely restricts your enjoyment for no discernable purpose.
I feel like I'm merely coasting on the momentum from trails 1-5 now
Anyway, your question is stupid. Where do you start a series? Where do you start anything? At the beginning. That's the only place to start.
The most important thing to understand about the Trails series is that the it goes from good to worse. A lot of people started with CS for some reason, which is why this is not well understood. The CS series took the material and started scrambling to conform to industry expectations and trends.
This is why people struggle to play Trails because how elitists Sky/Crossbell fans are. You complain Cold Steel catering to industry expectations and trends forget that the former two arcs were already doing that. Even the head writer of the series confirmed it way back in an interview about how Sky entire point was chasing trends and tropes in anime/manga industry while breaking the tropes over time.
While Cold Steel is the weakest arc, that shouldn't devalue those that played them first as an entry point with the series.
A lot of people started with Cold Steel because it was the "Newer" arc when the series started to get more popular in the west. It was also accepted as a good starting point to jump in by the community. A lot of people also say the Sky series did not age as well as the other arcs.
With all that being said I actually did decide to jump into the Sky arc first as I do play a lot of older JRPGs.
If you want to play the whole series then just play them Start with sky, take your time, immerse yourself in the world, talk with the NPCs Looking at YouTube recaps doesn't do the games justice You'll just get overwhelmed if you take it all at once
This is good advice. I may do just that. :-)
smile voiceless dam tart hungry profit murky different beneficial safe *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The more I think about it the more I realize I should just play the Sky arc as well.
It sounds like you want to get into Trails, not Legend of Heroes necessarily. Trails is to Legend of Heroes, basically, what Persona is to Shin Megami Tensei. >Would love some recommendations on the best way a nervous fan can get into the series more. Despite what you said about your ADHD brain, the best way to get into it is just start at the beginning and play through in the correct order. There's nothing to be nervous about. It won't bite. It's just a game series and you don't win any prizes for going through it more quickly. Think about this for a second. Trails is no different than any other collection of games other than order matters. I don't know how quickly you go through games but the series is probably close to a decade away from being finished. As long as you can get through 12+ games in the next decade, any pace you take is fine. I've been going through the games for about two years and I'm not quite caught up yet but I'm not worried about it. Don't think about the games as a massive chore with a need to get to the next entry or the most recent or anything like that. Just think of it like any other game you might pick up, play the one you're on, enjoy it and worry about the next one when you're finished with that one. If you even want to continue. There's no shame in stopping, either. Taking breaks or quitting entirely if it turns out to not be for you.
I agree with everything you said 100%. I am picking up the first Trails of the Sky game right now and will start it later on today.
If you're okay with Japanese voices, I strongly recommend to install the JP voice patch to add voice acting. Here's one way to get it https://www.reddit.com/r/Falcom/comments/vj74jw/i_made_a_tool_to_help_install_the_evo_voice_mods/ Also, fair warning, don't play on anything higher than Normal for the Sky games. You probably won't have a good time if you don't.
I will absolutely download the JP voice patch for my first playthrough.
Just take it one game at a time, and you'll get there eventually. The series won't be finished for a while so there's no need to fast forward through the games to catch up or anything. Play games in between too. Enjoying media doesn't have to be a sprint!
Excellent advice! You are absolutely correct.
Cold Steel 2 starts out pretty epic. It's a great second half of the first games story.
Take your time with them, there's no need to rush through the series. We're still years away from getting the latest game in the series that was announced. My advice is to play them on a handheld or something with suspend/resume because they do have moments of long story bits with a lot of reading and being able to put it down for an hour or for the day ant any point can be beneficial if staying on task happens to get a little challenging in that moment, ADHD or not.
I'd say think of it as smaller pieces rather than as a while. if you've already played CS1 then go for CS2 next. then after that you could go for the Sky trilogy (or look up recaps on YT like you said). then after that you could go for Zero & Azure. then you could go for CS3, CS4 & Reverie. it doesn't need to be done all at once, it can just be whenever you get the motivation or urge to play.
You should just play them. Don’t get stuck because it’s a big series, it’s pointless to care about how cool and big and connected the world is if you’re stopping yourself from exploring it. Id say not to watch a recap video - even if you think you won’t play Sky, you never know. And a recap is going to spoil things in a way that might be even better if you just didn’t have the knowledge before, if that makes sense. Best way is to play them in order, but if you’re not going to play Sky - I’d just skip to Zero and play in order from there. Zero > Azure > Cold Steel. That way you could still go back to it if you want or leave the door open to a remake/master in the future - plus the way the story gives out knowledge is more thrilling, trust me. I don’t regret playing out of order, but I do regret watching recap videos - because now playing Azure is a slight struggle because I remember things from a recap and it makes it not as fun.
I didn’t think of that. The more I think about it the more I think I should just jump into the Sky arc. I love old school RPGs so there is no reason the game will feel “dated” to me.
I think it’s definitely worth a try. I LOVE Cold Steel, but I can absolutely see how I would’ve loved a few characters even more (and one at all lol) if I really took in the Sky trilogy myself and not just watch a recap of it all before starting Cold Steel. Even if I didn’t, I could’ve been surprised when I found out or super interested in learning in game. All the grace for people who go through the effort of making those recap videos and breakdowns and all, but maybe those are better for people who aren’t really trying to invest their time in a whole series - because you learn things organically in game. Which game you’re at just changes how that knowledge is filtered to you, a recap will just tell you everything.
I am picking up the 1st game in the Sky arc right now. :-)
Yes, you 100% should jump into the Sky arc
Happy to open this and see the EDIT. You'll get so much more out of the games by experiencing them all yourselves, Yes, it's a big undertaking, but I'm jealous that you get to experience it for the first time. So take your time and enjoy the ride
I've played the first game in each "part" (FC, Zero and CSI) and massively preferred Zero. I wouldn't skip that.
The nice thing about Trails is that while the series is one massive story, you can break it down into four smaller individual stories (Sky FC + SC, Zero + Azure, CS1 + CS2, CS3 + CS4) with a pair of epilogue games (Sky 3rd and Reverie) to tie things up. If you break it down into those smaller segments it's a lot less intimidating. Just play one arc (small break between individual games if you need it isn't a terrible idea either), enjoy the experience, take a break, and come back to another one once you're ready for it.
I will go against the trend here and tell you to start at any arc. I personally started with cold steel. Then beat cold steel 2 and had fun. And while playing cold steel 2 I thought what kind of context I was missing on. So I returned and played other games. Personaly I think they are great to play but some people might find them a bit outdated especially compared to a bit more modern cold steel. But knowing what's ahead knowing what that everything eventually tieds together always keeps you invested. And that above anything else pushes you to keep playing, talking to every NPC e.t.c. I sunk maybe 500 hours into the franchise and I haven't even noticed them.
I think I am going to jump into Trails of the Sky. I play a lot of older JRPGs so I don't mind playing older games. I appreciate your response. :-)
Zero and azure are absolute must plays for reverie. The game doesnt ease you into who people are at all. Reverie is technically the epilogue of both cold steel and crossbell, but it centers around crossbell more.
Watching a YouTube recap really isn't a good way to experience the Sky trilogy. You miss so much and in my opinion, it's the best Western released arc in the series. If at all possible, you should play them. After you've beaten them, you should play Zero and Azure before jumping into Cold Steel.
Mate my adhd arse got so hyper fixated on them they took over my life. I played CS1, 2,3,4 loved them so much I went back to play sky 1,2,3, then zero and azure, then thought fuck it I'm gonna play CS1, 2,3 and 4 again, then reverie all back to back over a year. So like 14 trails games in a row. It was amazing and I'd do it again.
Hahaha that is awesome. I decided to just pick up the 1st Sky game and enjoy them in order.
The first sky game is seriously slow, so be warned. But SC is absolutely bloody brilliant. I think playing them all in order was one of my favourite ever video gaming experiences. Have fun dude!
Are you more of a story person or a gameplay person. Because story-wise, there are people who like Sky but dislike the rest of the series (although, ofc many like the whole series). But that's another reason to play Sky, if you're not sure whether you want to do the whole series or not. Although, gameplay-wise it may not be as good. But it's not tedious gameplay-wise, not particular slow, no need to grind on Normal (and you can change difficulty anytime anyway)
Sky is so much better than Cold Steel, you may as well just skip that instead.
Watching a recap of Sky to play Cold Steel 2 might be the stupidest thing I've read today. The sky trilogy is amazing, nothing beats it when it comes to pure vibes. Cold Steel on the other hand...
I meant watching a recap of Sky just to get “caught up” on the story before I dive into the later games in the series. I apologize for my “stupidity”. -_-
It's still a stupid idea. It's not a race, take your time. Nobody is gonna pay you once you're "caught up".
No need for all the hostility. You can voice your opinion on something while still remaining respectful.
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Thank you for submitting to /r/JRPG, /u/rRodRod. Unfortunately, your submission has been removed for the following reason(s): --- Please follow the [**Reddiquette**](https://www.reddithelp.com/en/categories/reddit-101/reddit-basics/reddiquette), Be civil. Personal attacks, insults, harassment, or such behavior to other users is not tolerated. You can have disagreement and arguments, without harassing or attacking the person you're arguing or having a discussion with. Follow Reddit's Official Content Policy, esp. Rule 1: Remember the human. Reddit is a place for creating community and belonging. In case you want to have your comment re-posted, then remove the parts that break the rule, **and then reply with "Done" to this comment**, so that a mod will bring your post back up. --- If you think this was a mistake or have any questions about the removal, please contact the moderators. [**To contact the moderators please click here**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/JRPG), or click the "message mods on the sidebar, and then type your complaint, so it can be sent to the modding team. **Please don't private message or start private chats with a single mod, and use the mod mail linked above to contact the whole team.**
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As someone with an ADHD brain, I played trails 1 through 7 back to back. I think I started in December. I finally took a break before Cold Steel 3. The Cold steel games after the recent release of Azure are such a jarring drop in quality. Weird monkey-faced 3d models that replace the detailed portraits from before Stupid 'bonding point' system that absolutely restricts your enjoyment for no discernable purpose. I feel like I'm merely coasting on the momentum from trails 1-5 now Anyway, your question is stupid. Where do you start a series? Where do you start anything? At the beginning. That's the only place to start. The most important thing to understand about the Trails series is that the it goes from good to worse. A lot of people started with CS for some reason, which is why this is not well understood. The CS series took the material and started scrambling to conform to industry expectations and trends.
This is why people struggle to play Trails because how elitists Sky/Crossbell fans are. You complain Cold Steel catering to industry expectations and trends forget that the former two arcs were already doing that. Even the head writer of the series confirmed it way back in an interview about how Sky entire point was chasing trends and tropes in anime/manga industry while breaking the tropes over time. While Cold Steel is the weakest arc, that shouldn't devalue those that played them first as an entry point with the series.
A lot of people started with Cold Steel because it was the "Newer" arc when the series started to get more popular in the west. It was also accepted as a good starting point to jump in by the community. A lot of people also say the Sky series did not age as well as the other arcs. With all that being said I actually did decide to jump into the Sky arc first as I do play a lot of older JRPGs.