The GWJ JRPG Club - Q2 2019 - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel!

I went through the previous threads, and it goes back to at least Q2 2017. Maybe even earlier. It sure took a while! I'm guessing the PS4 release gave it the push it needed to make it to the finish line.

At least 2 years and 6 months according to my old save because I specifically stop playing to do it as part of game club.

Well, I made it through the prologue, and saved up right at the start of Chapter 1. Definitely an interesting lead-in to the game. I like the turbo mode and the option to skip past some battle animations, as I suspect that some of the battle animations, and the little voiced comments, will get old. I also like that the system gives bonus XP for things like finishing a battle without taking damage, or using items in battle, etc.

LastSurprise wrote:

I like the turbo mode

That's not enough to get me to buy the PC or PS4 version, but it's close.

I miss the empty treasure chest messages

I'm into the first Field Study! Definitely really enjoying the writing and character development in this game so far, and for some reason, it's connecting with me a little bit better than Trails in the Sky did.

I ran into some trouble with the first Practical Exam boss: the robot with the special win condition of "don't let anyone get K.O.'ed." I'm playing on hard, and at that level, the boss's earth-elemental arte has an area of effect, and can kill Elliott in one hit. I think that when you see him going for this move, you're supposed to trigger a link attack and cancel it. But I ran into several problems: (1) I didn't realize that link skills get reset going into this battle, so you have to set them again before you start; and (2) even after doing that, I couldn't always reliably cancel the robot's move. So, I played the battle a few times. Eventually I ended up just running ahead with Rean and Gaius so that the boss would engage them without getting close enough bring Elliott within the area of effect. And wouldn't you know it, that time, I was able to cancel his special move.

I had to redo that battle as well to fulfill the requirement (and I'm playing on normal). For whatever reason Rean's defense was really low, and I was not paying good enough attention to his HP. Eventually, by using Rean's 'Encourage' craft (not sure what the name actually is), I was able to finish that fight.

I'm also really liking the characters, but Malchias is kind of a pain in the butt.

The first field trip was pretty fun! I finished the first chapter on Monday. I was planning on playing a bit yesterday, but some emergency dropped in the evening and I had to go to the gym as well. Tonight should be good though.

I’m on the second day of the first field trip. Overall enjoying it more than Trails. Pretty easy but I’m only on normal difficulty.

bobbywatson wrote:

I'm also really liking the characters, but Malchias is kind of a pain in the butt.

He is the only outwardly confrontational of the group. He redeems himself.

Just started this up today and am in the very first tutorial dungeon. The hot start and flashback to 5 months earlier didn't really do anything for me. Even with playing Trails in the Sky the combat was different enough that I kind of just attacked through the fights and used a few arts. Looking forward to actually getting to know these characters as the game goes.

JohnKillo wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:

I'm also really liking the characters, but Malchias is kind of a pain in the butt.

He is the only outwardly confrontational of the group. He redeems himself.

Does that happen in this game, or the next one? (Feel free to use spoilers for the answer )

Malkroth wrote:

Just started this up today and am in the very first tutorial dungeon. The hot start and flashback to 5 months earlier didn't really do anything for me. Even with playing Trails in the Sky the combat was different enough that I kind of just attacked through the fights and used a few arts. Looking forward to actually getting to know these characters as the game goes.

I agree, the flashback wasn’t very interesting. I would have been fine starting on the train to Thors.

Persona 5’s flashback, in contrast, really set up the emotional tone of the game, and the stakes, up front. But after the flashback in Trails, I have no sense of why I should care about the moment to come, or how this event provides a lens to view the characters’ first four months at school.

bobbywatson wrote:
JohnKillo wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:

I'm also really liking the characters, but Malchias is kind of a pain in the butt.

He is the only outwardly confrontational of the group. He redeems himself.

Does that happen in this game, or the next one? (Feel free to use spoilers for the answer )

Spoiler:

He comically fight Jusis because he is nobility. They kiss and make up but still snipe at each other like an old couple

I'm probably mixed on both P5 and CS. The P5 opening felt really cheesy to me. But I did like that interview flash forwards.

Yeah, I’m not saying it’s above criticism or anything, but at least you know how it ties into the story. In CS there’s nothing about the prologue, that I’ve seen so far, which informs what happens next.

At least it’s short! My least favorite JRPG prologue ever is playing as Roxas for 3 hours at the top of KH2.

This prologue felt to me like they thought some people might be put off by a slow beginning so, “hey, look how powerful you get later on!”

It did nothing for me.

I’ve moved through a good part of the first field study, and finished the three initial tasks. I definitely have enjoyed it, especially the boss fight against the dinosaur. Also, it’s interesting to see that Instructor Sara might be a pretty savvy, despite presenting as sloppy.

A fun little aside: since I’ve been watching Critical Role, I’ve started paying more attention to which voice actors appear in which games. It seems inevitable that, no matter the game, at least one member of the cast has worked on it. For this one, Marisa Rey plays Laura S. Arseid. Puts a smile on my face whenever I hear her cut in with “BEHOLD, MY MOST POWERFUL STRIKE” (or whatever the quote is).

Is it too late for me to join in on the fun? I got this game when it initially released on Vita and with my vita gone, I think I'll have to start from scratch - also I don't remember much of anything outside of the fact that there's a lot of character building early and it feels like Persona. If I remember correctly, if you have no experience with that weird gem system for attacks, it can be overwhelming - I used a guide on how to start when I got the game, although it was new and the guide was light. Gonna compare PC and PS4 pricing. I still have Gamer's Club Unlocked with Best Buy so PS4 physical might be my best bet.

You can start whenever, so feel free to play and to be a part of the conversation!

bobbywatson wrote:

I miss the empty treasure chest messages :(

They're gone? Is this in the PS4 version?

garion333 wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:

I miss the empty treasure chest messages :(

They're gone? Is this in the PS4 version?

Vita. No idea if they were added later.

There aren't any in the PS4 version either. And there's definitely no trophy for "read all the empty treasure chest messages," as their was for Trails in the Sky FC (though that was on Steam).

I'm just starting the first day of the second field trip. Pleasantly surprised to finally find some more armour worth buying.

I forgot to try and find any fishing spots on the first field trip, whoops! Should try to remember for this time round.

Is the "money glitch" still in the game? When it first released, there was a recipe that sold for higher than it's ingredients that you could get really early on. Not sure how necessary it was/is but I'm all about not having to work for money in JRPGs.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

I'm just starting the first day of the second field trip. Pleasantly surprised to finally find some more armour worth buying.

I forgot to try and find any fishing spots on the first field trip, whoops! Should try to remember for this time round.

I don't think I saw any, but it's entirely possible I missed them. I fished again in town in the month of May, and I got two different types of fish. They came directly after the ones from the first chapter in the list, so I assumed I hadn't missed any (yet).

I just finished the second incursion into the old school house, about to go on the second field trip as well.

Wow...looks really good in ultrawide compared to when i was playing the vita version using PSTV:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/P9arRTq.jpg)

Might have to click the link to get the full resolution...although I just used printscreen to cap it so idk if it takes away from the quality.

Something I just discovered that might be of some use to somebody else:

I bought some books from the bookstore in Trista and, for some reason, they were not showing up the the 'Books' section of the Notes. I found them under the 'Event' section in the items menu. Using them helped boost the social link with some of my teammates (e.g. a book about napping increased the XP with Fie).

I'm at the practical exam of May, and I get the feeling I will have to redo that one a few times...

There is definitely at least one recipe that you can sell for more than the cost of us ingredients. I had heard about this, so I tried it with Elliott and the omelet. The ingredients for an omelet — an egg and salt — cost 60, but Elliott only appears to produce the “great” and “best” versions of this, which sell for 70 and 80, respectively. Not a huge profit, but you can buy and sell in bulk.

Also, after bobbywatson’s fishing post, I went back along the Celtic highway to check for fishing spots. There were two: one on the east and one on the west. There were no visual cues to find them that I saw. I didn’t walk down to a dock or up to a lake or anything like that. Rean gave a vocal cue, but not until I was close enough to interact with the spot. Don’t even remember seeing the bubbles on the water. So, I guess we have to hug any waterway, real tight, to find these spots? The two fish I got were the 3rd and 4th on the list, so I don’t think you missed anything.

Also, for anyone concerned about lost forever stuff, here is a very helpful guide I found. It’s really low on spoilers.

About to go into the park, so I think I’ll finish Chapter 1 this weekend. Then, back to P5!

LastSurprise: Thanks for correcting my statement on fishing spots!

bobbywatson wrote:

I'm at the practical exam of May, and I get the feeling I will have to redo that one a few times...

I was under the impression that, to be able to successfully get the extra AP for this one,

Spoiler:

I had to cancel arts every single time, but apparently I only had to do it once? As soon as I cancelled the first one, I got a message saying I had completed the objective, and I did get the extra point.

LastSurprise wrote:

There is definitely at least one recipe that you can sell for more than the cost of us ingredients. I had heard about this, so I tried it with Elliott and the omelet. The ingredients for an omelet — an egg and salt — cost 60, but Elliott only appears to produce the “great” and “best” versions of this, which sell for 70 and 80, respectively. Not a huge profit, but you can buy and sell in bulk.

That is the one! I remembered it was one of the weaker characters that could do it and it was some sort of egg thing. I think it has to be the highest version in order to be profitable. Yes, buying and selling in bulk speeds it up a bit (for making money) but it's very useful when it's time to get new equipment and you are low on money.

I have to say, this game does so many things right as far as how "modern" JRPGs should be handled (not just remasters/remakes).

1. On PC, it supports prompts for Mouse/Keyboard, xbox, and Playstation. I know that's not a huge deal, but now that DS4 works with steam, this is a very nice addition for those using DS4. Also, just my opinion, DS4 button prompts look better on screen, probably because they are blac with white text/button color

2. Difficulty levels - I know quite a few of the action RPGs do this already, but the turn-based RPGs normally don't because it's not usually necessary. Sometimes you are flying through the game and despite the battle system being interesting and deep...you don't get to test it if the game is too easy. On the other hand, you don't want a turn based RPG that uses some sort of randomness to screw you over because it's super hard and an ill-timed miss/crit cause you to wipe at a boss that took you a long time to get close to death (looking at you FFTactics and Tactics Ogre).

3. A FREAKING SPEED UP BUTTON!!! I know this is only in the newer releases (PC, and PS4) but I wish more games would release with this. Sometimes I don't want to watch a 7 second attack animation (these things add up), especially when I'm trying to grind. Sometimes I don't need to watch your slow pan of the town, but I want the rest of the dialog in a cutscene so skipping isn't an option. Turbo mode in this is even better than fast forward in Persona 4+5 because you don't have to miss the text. Turbo mode was the only thing missing from Battle Chasers Nigtwar - which should end up as a JRPG club game and it's shorter than most JRPGs.

This game does do that annoying thing where I have to hit x/a/whatever button between every 2-3sec of talking, but I'll forgive it for the other things it does correctly.