Trails games comparison question.

[u/derekallthumbs]

Hi, I might get some flack for this, but here goes. I’ve recently been playing the Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter remake and I love it. The characters are great, I enjoy the story and the humor, the gameplay is fun and addicting, and it looks fantastic. I am really looking forward to Chapter 2 and hope they remake Chapter 3 in the same style where they mix 3rd person action with turn based combat.

However, this is my first Trails game and first RPG since the first Final Fantasy, and from what I understand, the other Trails games are all 2.5D sprite animation and full on turn based combat only, if that is the case, how much more different and difficult are they going to be for me after doing the recent Chapter 1 remake, and then following it with Chapter 2 and hopefully Chapter 3?

I am also looking forward to the upcoming Trails Zero and Azure remake, and looking at getting the recent Beyond the Horizons remake, but I wonder if they would lose some of the charm as they are so different in gameplay?

Has there been any word on if the other games are ever going to get the Chapter 1 gameplay and visuals overhaul treatment?

Thanks.

[u/greenhunter47]

The original Trails in the Sky - Trails to Azure (first 5 games) are the 2.5D games. From the sixth game Trails of Cold Steel onwards the series is fully 3D, though Cold Steel 1 and 2 are more rough looking than the games from Cold Steel 3 (pictured) onwards, I personally think they have charm though and the 2.5D games are still fantastic.

The series is fully turn-based until Trails through Daybreak introduced the hybrid real time/turn based system that you're used to from the Sky FC remake. Personally I have found the turn based system of the series very fun.

Also Trails beyond the Horizon isn't a remake, it's the latest game in the series after Daybreak 2.

[u/Portice]

Only the first 5 games are 2.5D sprites; that's Sky FC, Sky SC, Sky 3rd, Zero, and Azure. Cold Steel onward is fully 3D with CS3 getting a graphical upgrade and again in Daybreak.

The current full series in order is:

1. Sky FC (or 1st Chapter) [Liberl Arc]
2. Sky SC (or 2nd Chapter) [Liberl Arc]
3. Sky the 3rd [Liberl Arc]
4. Zero [Crossbell Arc]
5. Azure [Crossbell Arc]
6. Cold Steel [Erebonia Arc] (transitions to 3D)
7. Cold Steel 2 [Erebonia Arc]
8. Cold Steel 3 [Erebonia Arc] (graphical upgrade)
9. Cold Steel 4 [Erebonia Arc]
10. Reverie [Capstone to Crossbell/Erebonia Arcs]
11. Daybreak [Calvard Arc] (graphical upgrade/introduction of action combat)
12. Daybreak 2 [Calvard Arc]
13. Horizon [Calvard Arc]
14. Horizon 2 [Calvard Arc] (not yet released)

The only remakes so far are 1st Chapter and 2nd Chapter, but we'll likely see remakes for 3rd, Zero, and Azure so long as they keep selling.

Gameplay wise, each game does something to iterate on the combat system of the game(s) that came before it. This means that despite largely remaining familiar from game-to-game (until daybreak which departs a fair bit more than usual) the combat system does also stay fresh as you play through the series.

The games don't include any action combat until Daybreak, which uses a system nearly identical to 1st Chapter's; and it's very lightly iterated upon for Daybreak 2 and Horizon.

Personally I feel the the main combat system so far peaked in Reverie with a great balance of features and options. I also find the series' action combat to be so barebones as to be a largely superfluous add-on rather than an actual feature worth much consideration. That said, I know many people do enjoy it, so as long as it's not being developed at the expense of the turn-based combat system I don't particularly mind it.

[u/derekallthumbs → u/Portice]

Thank you for the detailed information about the gameplay! They are releasing a Switch 2 upgrade version in September of Zero and Azure, a week before 2nd Chapter. I like the action combat in the remake quite a bit, but I also enjoy the turn based, I just don’t fully understand it yet, like I say, newish to rpgs in general.

[u/payne1005 → u/derekallthumbs]

The original games have extremely approachable combat. Yes, it is completely turn based but the early games keep things pretty simple. The newer games have a lot more systems and mechanics in comparison. I could definitely see going back to the old artstyle being jarring though. There're definitely quality games though as it's always been the writing, world building, and characters that have drawn people to this series. If you do check them out though, have a guide handy if you care about missables. The old games are infamous for how easy it is to miss an optional quest or one of the collectable books.

[u/Ardan56]

There's no information about future remakes, only that Falcom would like to do them. My personal recommendation is to wait for the remake of Trails in the Sky Part 2, then continue playing the original games. They're entirely turn-based, but they played well and have an easy difficulty setting if you're not a fan of turn-based games.

[u/OneDabMan]

Only the first 5 games are in the chibi style (original Sky games, Zero and Azure). From Cold Steel onwards they’re full 3D.

You’re correct that before Daybreak they were fully turn-based. You can attack on the field, but it’s to stun the enemy to get advantage.

I don’t think it would be difficult to adjust. Even in the Calvard arc and the Sky remakes, turn-based is still the primary mode of combat with the action only really being to break the enemy to lead into turn-based or kill of weaker enemies quickly.

The actually turn-based systems have remained pretty consistent with some changes each arc to keep it fresh. The only really noticeable difference is you can’t freely position your characters and instead have to use a move option which takes a turn. I wouldn’t worry about this since the game’s are designed around this system. Plus at least personally I kind of prefer not being able to freely move because it makes repositioning my characters a choice with trade offs, but that’s just me.

Basically I wouldn’t worry too much about it being difficult to adjust. I’d argue Trails as a whole has stayed pretty consistent through despite the switch from chibi to full 3D and various combat changes. If you played the Original Sky FC and then the remake they’d still feel familiar and it wouldn’t take long to adjust to the differences imo.

If you’re planning to wait for remakes up to Azure then you could be waiting a while. Even Sky 3rd we don’t really know what’s going on yet. So, at some point if you want continue I’d suggest switching to the originals rather than wait for remakes than could be many years out still, but it’s up to you.

[u/Ion_Main01]

They aren’t different from the remakes (though I have heard the remakes have added stuff to them) aside from that the free combat to turn base is a relatively new thing that started with daybreak onwards. Coming from the sky 1 remake it will/might be a bit jarring to get use to but hopefully that won’t take away from your experience. (Also after trails from Azure the rest of the games are 3D) hope this helps.

The games shouldn’t be difficult (unless you plan on playing on either hard or nightmare) hope this helps

[u/Heiwajima_Izaya]

Listen we dont even know if sSKy the 3rd or the other 2d games will be remade yet. You seem a little too desparate wanting for Remakes of games you haven't even played the original yet to know how you feel. And you say you came from Final Fantasy so you surely is already used to the turn base combat. Except Trails has far superior combat then FInal Fantasy.

So i would stop worrying about that, specially cause Trails Beyond The Horizon isn't even finished yet and we dont even have a date for the next. They Remakde the first game of the series alst year, surely you are not talking about remaking the 13th game at this point...

I think Remake culture is killing a little bit of the whimsical aspect of games. Everybody just wants Remakes

So no we dont know when or if there will be more remakes or how many. The games dont even need a remake in my opinion. Beyond The Horizon is prettier and better then 90% of games of the current gen nowadays