I own this one on PC and PSP. I've started it on both systems and for the most part I really like it. I just seem to drift off to another game after a while. Maybe it's the fact that I grab too many Bracer quests and then get lost.
Damn it Feels Good to Enjoy A J-RPG Again!
|
 On 11/15/2016 at 06:18 AM by Blake Turner See More From This User » |
In my last blog, I mentioned that when I finished playing Ys, I would give Falcom's other big series Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky a go. Well, I'm about 20 hours into this roughly 50 hour game and I'm having a goddamned ball!
I was a little hesitant going into Trails of the Sky though. For a start, I'm not a big J-RPG lover. In fact, the last true J-RPG I remember falling in love with was maybe Final Fantasy X, unless you count Xenoblade Chronicles X, which I'm not sure I do even though the title looks like an edgy early 2000's chatroom name.
The second hurdle I had to get over were the graphics, which look kinda PS1-ish. However, I was almost immediately won over by the charming characters and wonderful music.
Let's get it straight, I am LOVING this game. Like, if things keep going this may earn a place in my top 50 loving this game. There are just so many things I love about it. So I'm going to list a few off.
- I love the way the game starts off with you getting to know the starting town and not really venturing far away from it for about 6 or 7 hours. That may sound boring and tedious, but somehow they manage it, and you become intimately familiar with the area and its inhabitants as though this were your own home town. It makes it so this is a place you kind of don't want to leave, yet at the same time it makes going to new places feel like an adventure. I know other games do it too, but it never captivated me as much as it does here.
- I love the little character touches. Sure, this game is pretty darn anime at times, but each character has little touches that make them feel much more real and 3 dimensional than your stock J-RPG character.
-I love that Falcom seems to have a Harmonica fetish, and that Joshua plays Feena's melody from Ys.
- I love reading about the history of this place, and just how dark some of the history is juxtaposed with just how determined and optimistic the central characters are. It warms my old jaded heart in a way I thought this genre never would.
-I love that dialogue in this game is pretty well written and super rounded. It actually feels like a reward rather than a hindrance!
-I love that the combat system is a mashup of traditional turn based JRPG fare and strategy RPG ala Fire Emblem.
-I love that if you die you can immediately retry that exact fight without having to load a prior save.
-And I love the fact that you have a 100% success rate for fleeing fights unless it's a boss.
I only really have two problems with the game so far. Firstly, the combat system is utterly fantastic when you're fighting tough enemies and bosses. When you're just fighting trash mobs though the system can get tedious as fights tend to drag on longer than they should.
The other is a bit SJW-ey but the game is a touch on the homophobic side. This is a game from the early 2000's from Japan that has only just been localised recently, but you'd think said translation team could have dialed down on that aspect a little bit, especially when they're pretty good about most other things. It's far from a deal breaker though and is just a touch irritating.
Well that about does it. If you like JRPGs you owe it to yourself to try out this marvellous gem of a game! It's on PC and PSP, though you can pick it up on Vita too.
Comments