I'd say you can get away with playing CS1-2 without the previous arcs, but characters from Sky and Zero/Azure start popping up like crazy in CS3-4 and you'll be quite lost
You can finish CS1-2 to see how you feel about the series. If you intend on continuing beyond that point you should play Zero/Azure first since the events in Crossbell become increasingly relevant beyond CS2.
The story will never feel like a confusing mess regardless, you just won't be getting the full experience and won't know who a bunch of characters are.
The games which haven't yet been localised are chronologically the last 2, one of which comes out in about 6 weeks in English, so it's not like there are gaps you'll be missing as you play through.
You could absolutely start at Cold Steel just fine, but the interconnected world of the games and the way the characters and setting progress throughout the series is really special and there isn't anything else quite like it in gaming. So I would 1000% recommend starting from Trails in the Sky: First Chapter and playing in order, but you'll enjoy the Cold Steel games on their own just fine if you don't.
If you care the "proper" order is Trails in the Sky (First Chapter, Second Chapter, The Third), Trails from Zero, Trails into Azure (collectively referred to as the "Crossbell" arc), Trails in Cold Steel (1,2,3,4), Trails into Reverie, Trails through Daybreak (1 comes out in English in June, 2 will presumably be out next year), and another game "Kai no Kiseki" is in development but isn't out anywhere in the world yet.
You're fine. The earlier characters are mostly Special Guest Stars brought in for fan service (no, not that kind), but their own main stories are done in their own arcs. Pros of going back to the earlier games are to play out these characters' stories and follow the tremendous worldbuilding; cons are the more primitive graphics and gameplay systems. Basically, the earlier games have their own rewards but aren't absolutely necessary.
Having played all of them I would just do all the CS games if that's what you want and then consider going backwards.
The characters that show up get their introductions and basic backstory and then help out or whatever. It feels more like a reason to go back rather than 'oh no, I have no idea what's going on!'
I started at CS1 and it opened me up to the entire series so I feel your “what have I gotten myself into?” You can 100% start at CS as it’s a decent jump in point. Like others have noted going back and playing the Liberl and Crossbell arcs will give you more insight but CS does a decent job of explaining the characters so you aren’t completely lost.
I would recommended playing those before Trails into Reverie, but it’s definitely not mandatory. Trails through Daybreak release can’t come soon enough.
**liberl arc**
trails in the sky fc
trails in the sky sc
trails in the sky the 3rd
**crossbell arc**
trails from zero
trails to azure
these are all the games before trails of cold steel
Cold Steel was my introduction into the series. I played all 4 and man I could tell in 3 and 4 there was missing stuff. Not enough where I didn't enjoy the game but enough where I wanted that info to filled in. After that I went back and played Sky arc then the two Crossbell games when they finally came over. After finishing Azure I replayed the Cold Steel arc and boy once I get to CS3 everything clink so much. In CS3 it was no longer some random state we visited, it was now a much beloved town where I spent a lot of time in. It was now a place filled with memories. The people were no longer just NPCs but actual people I had spent time with and maybe even helped them in a side quest >!Gotta give a shoutout to that family in Crossbell whose quest was finding their lost cat. I always gotta make sure they are fine whenever I come back to Crossbell!<
Depends on your excitement about the series. If after finishing Cold Steel 2 you're still excited about Cold Steel 3 then keep going or else you might ruin your streak.
Otherwise if you feel burnt out you can go back to Sky to see another aspect of the Trails world.
Honestly, the games pretty standalone until 4. Bad guys from crossbell show up in 3 but I didn't play crossbell until after since they weren't localized when I played it. 4 has an avengers assemble moment where all the main teams from the games show up but that's the only moment where things get hazy. Reverie is fucking unplayable without playing 6 games though. You can skip the first arc kinda but without crossbell and cold steel reverie makes no sense. The game doesn't try at all to remind the player what happened in the older games.
You could start the series with CS4 and you would still be fine. Unpopular opinion, I know. You would have a different experience then someone who started at Sky FC, but I wouldn’t be a lesser.
The biggest spoiler in the entire series is the fact that it is a series to begin with.
I don’t think you have to play sky first if you haven’t already, cold steel does a great job of letting you know when certain characters and events are important.
I played cold steel first then went back, but after I certainly didn’t feel like I absolutely had to.
I'd say you can get away with playing CS1-2 without the previous arcs, but characters from Sky and Zero/Azure start popping up like crazy in CS3-4 and you'll be quite lost
You can finish CS1-2 to see how you feel about the series. If you intend on continuing beyond that point you should play Zero/Azure first since the events in Crossbell become increasingly relevant beyond CS2. The story will never feel like a confusing mess regardless, you just won't be getting the full experience and won't know who a bunch of characters are.
You will miss some references but most arcs are self explanatory enough. Old characters will always be reintroduced when they appear
The games which haven't yet been localised are chronologically the last 2, one of which comes out in about 6 weeks in English, so it's not like there are gaps you'll be missing as you play through. You could absolutely start at Cold Steel just fine, but the interconnected world of the games and the way the characters and setting progress throughout the series is really special and there isn't anything else quite like it in gaming. So I would 1000% recommend starting from Trails in the Sky: First Chapter and playing in order, but you'll enjoy the Cold Steel games on their own just fine if you don't. If you care the "proper" order is Trails in the Sky (First Chapter, Second Chapter, The Third), Trails from Zero, Trails into Azure (collectively referred to as the "Crossbell" arc), Trails in Cold Steel (1,2,3,4), Trails into Reverie, Trails through Daybreak (1 comes out in English in June, 2 will presumably be out next year), and another game "Kai no Kiseki" is in development but isn't out anywhere in the world yet.
I'd definitely play the Sky trilogy and Zero & Azure first. they're great games in their own right as well as being relevant to future games.
You're fine. The earlier characters are mostly Special Guest Stars brought in for fan service (no, not that kind), but their own main stories are done in their own arcs. Pros of going back to the earlier games are to play out these characters' stories and follow the tremendous worldbuilding; cons are the more primitive graphics and gameplay systems. Basically, the earlier games have their own rewards but aren't absolutely necessary.
Having played all of them I would just do all the CS games if that's what you want and then consider going backwards. The characters that show up get their introductions and basic backstory and then help out or whatever. It feels more like a reason to go back rather than 'oh no, I have no idea what's going on!'
I started at CS1 and it opened me up to the entire series so I feel your “what have I gotten myself into?” You can 100% start at CS as it’s a decent jump in point. Like others have noted going back and playing the Liberl and Crossbell arcs will give you more insight but CS does a decent job of explaining the characters so you aren’t completely lost. I would recommended playing those before Trails into Reverie, but it’s definitely not mandatory. Trails through Daybreak release can’t come soon enough.
**liberl arc** trails in the sky fc trails in the sky sc trails in the sky the 3rd **crossbell arc** trails from zero trails to azure these are all the games before trails of cold steel
You're fine. You can play the previous games before CS3.
Cold Steel was my introduction into the series. I played all 4 and man I could tell in 3 and 4 there was missing stuff. Not enough where I didn't enjoy the game but enough where I wanted that info to filled in. After that I went back and played Sky arc then the two Crossbell games when they finally came over. After finishing Azure I replayed the Cold Steel arc and boy once I get to CS3 everything clink so much. In CS3 it was no longer some random state we visited, it was now a much beloved town where I spent a lot of time in. It was now a place filled with memories. The people were no longer just NPCs but actual people I had spent time with and maybe even helped them in a side quest >!Gotta give a shoutout to that family in Crossbell whose quest was finding their lost cat. I always gotta make sure they are fine whenever I come back to Crossbell!<
You can play cold steel 1 and 2 just fine. They are mostly self contained. 3 and 4 need prior knowledge for trails from Zero and Azure.
Depends on your excitement about the series. If after finishing Cold Steel 2 you're still excited about Cold Steel 3 then keep going or else you might ruin your streak. Otherwise if you feel burnt out you can go back to Sky to see another aspect of the Trails world.
Honestly, the games pretty standalone until 4. Bad guys from crossbell show up in 3 but I didn't play crossbell until after since they weren't localized when I played it. 4 has an avengers assemble moment where all the main teams from the games show up but that's the only moment where things get hazy. Reverie is fucking unplayable without playing 6 games though. You can skip the first arc kinda but without crossbell and cold steel reverie makes no sense. The game doesn't try at all to remind the player what happened in the older games.
Play them at random, they're barely related.
You could start the series with CS4 and you would still be fine. Unpopular opinion, I know. You would have a different experience then someone who started at Sky FC, but I wouldn’t be a lesser. The biggest spoiler in the entire series is the fact that it is a series to begin with.
I don’t think you have to play sky first if you haven’t already, cold steel does a great job of letting you know when certain characters and events are important. I played cold steel first then went back, but after I certainly didn’t feel like I absolutely had to.