Appreciation thread

[Shubham]

I just want to say how impressed I am by the writing in this game every time I open and play it. About to finish SC and with almost 230 hours between this game and first, I am still always interested in what every single NPC has to say. Even inanimate chests just ooze from so much character, just a big thank you to everyone at Falcom for making this game, and everyone at Xseed/Carpe for doing such a mind blowing job of the localisation, undoubtedly some of the best writing I've seen in any game, translated or otherwise.

PS : I love this reference : GET A SILK BAG FROM THE GRAVEYARD DUCK TO LOOT LONGER.

[EdgarAllenSwole]

It's an amazing game. Doesn't beat FC in my opinion but still does a great job wrapping up a timeless story. The NPC dialogue is brilliant and makes me wish more series invested in world-building and continuity.

[Oguzhan]

I think overall this game is better than FC actually. It is a really close call but SC just has so many emotional moments and build up. Especially if you go out and explore. Not to mention all the pay off. The well choreographed fight scenes, emotional moments, sad moments, psychological breakdowns, character development and more.

FC was amazing too but SC just has MORE of it. Some people tend to complain about the first 5 chapters calling them formulaic but the thing is each of those chapters are an event in themselves. The hunt for a ghost, investigation of earthquakes, the tea party mystery, the fog investigation (this one is probably my favorite), and finally the hunt for a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dragon.

We also have long lasting sub plots like the Non-something-pack, the completion of arseille, Erobonia's attempt at invasion, Kevin's hunt for weissman (did you know that you can actually go back to Grancel in chapter 8 and talk to one of the priests who mentions something about a package that was wrapped heavily?) , Joshua finally accepting to face his past instead of running away from it thinking of it as someone else's memories etc etc... Hell even minor small stuff like the comments of your party members after they wake up from their dream in chapter 4 serves as build up (Agate and Olivier's dreams).

The writing in SC is just super tight. Nothing comes out of nowhere, it always slowly builds it's moments or continues the ones from FC. It knows when to have subtlety and most importantly, it knows how to share its ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ spotlight and not just focus on one character who is basically a checklist.

Scenes also have a lot of depth to them. I made an entire discussion about the beauty of Estelle's breakdown at the beginning of the game but that is just one example of many. The dream sequence, Agate's breakdown and dragon dive moment after it, the puppet scene, Zin's fight with Walter, Oliver and Kloe's MAGNIFICENT moment etc etc...

Speaking of Kloe, it is so nice to see characters getting outfit changes not for fan service but to show actual growth. Sky never really had a lot of fan servicy designs with the exception of Schera, an adult, and even that is very time compared to basically everything in CS and most j-rpgs. Some say it is because CS is in 3D but that is bs, as if you look at character portraits, Sky has very modest character designs unlike stuff like Fie, Altina and many more in CS. Kloe accepts her role as the future queen of her country, still nervous and has her doubts BUT her resolve is there. The same goes for Estelle, whose outfit has really bright colors that really stand out. There is actual story telling behind it, and it is simply amazing.

Hell even Duke Dunan gets believable character development that is slowly built. That speaks volumes. You can visit the castle in chapter 8 and find him doing his best to keep things under control, attending to the masses and their worries.

And let's not forget about all the NPCs. From the girl in Zeiss who is trying to take the receptionist job to the ever ambitious Kitty who is trying to open up her own shop, to the mother of our shopkeeper in Rolent who is trying to find him a wife etc etc... we have so many memorable NPCs in this game. And the best part is their stories actually intertwine as the game goes along. For example, the mother wants to find a bride for her son, so she goes to Grancel but is unable to find a suitable one. She goes back to Rolent, meeting Kitty, who wants to go to Bose to open up her own shop, taking a liking to her. As fate so happens the fog causes for Kitty to be stranded in Rolent. She stays with them and after feeling really appreciative she decides to stay and work there for a while. Now we have the lovers Ellie and Alnan. We see their relationship bloom as soon as FC starts (in Rolent Alnan tries to muster up the courage to ask her out and they go to see the queen's birthday where he asks for her hand in marriage) and in this game it continues. We do a quest for them and they are finally ready to get married. Jump to chapter 8, we do a side quest and now the wedding can continue. The flower is thrown and guess who picks it up? Kitty!!! She goes back to the shop. At that point if you talk to the mother she is basically assured that everything will go as wants, all she needs to do is to give them time at this point. The son (I forgot his name) feels like he is walking into a trap and Kitty is very smitten lets just say. Oh we also have Kitty's sister. At first she is bothered by how popular her sister is in comparison BUT after Kitty's departure she is worried her ass off. After learning her sister is doing fine, she calms down and accepts the situation, still feeling a bit lonely though.

Oh boy, just look at that. It is a full blown story where multiple NPCs get character development, resolution and they even cross paths.


SC is just an amazing game with A LOT of passion put into it. There is a reason why I consider it to be the best game in the series bar none.

[butterbattle22]

Oguzhan, I'm going to.....sorta disagree with something you wrote, although I think you were making a point and don't actually disagree with me.

Kloe's outfit at the end of SC is amazing fan service!

[Oguzhan]

Originally posted by butterbattle22:

Oguzhan, I'm going to.....sorta disagree with something you wrote, although I think you were making a point and don't actually disagree with me.

Kloe's outfit at the end of SC is amazing fan service!

Of course it is :D
The best kind, the one that shows development and not sexuality. The other best kind being, being able to fight a certain character. Sky 3rd is one of my favs for that reason.

[EdgarAllenSwole]

I prefer FC because it does all the heavy lifting when it comes to building Zemuria from scratch. SC is still a fantastic sequel that carries forward everything the first game set up - down to the most minute details and NPC arcs. Even if the story is more predictable than FC I can't fault it for using villain-of-the-week as an excuse to revisit each region. I was happy just to see what people were up to and how they reacted to events happening in the background.

[Oguzhan]

Originally posted by EdgarAllenSwole:

I prefer FC because it does all the heavy lifting when it comes to building Zemuria from scratch. SC is still a fantastic sequel that carries forward everything the first game set up - down to the most minute details and NPC arcs. Even if the story is more predictable than FC I can't fault it for using villain-of-the-week as an excuse to revisit each region. I was happy just to see what people were up to and how they reacted to events happening in the background.

FC is easily the tightest narrative in the series there is no going around that. And as a person who marathons the series twice a year (I wish I could do it more), I can safely say that FC does an INSANE amount of world building for itself and the future games in the series.

Some examples:

1: Olivier mentions the Chancellor.
2: Zin is in Liberl because he owes Cassius for resolving a case in the Republic. (we learn what it is later)
3: The researcher who is trying to find a dragon.
4: Obviously the entire sept-terion thing.
5: Erobonian and Calvard culture.
6: Ein Selnate and therefore Toval from CS.
7: The nobility of Erobonia.
8: Mischa (her grave) and the elder has a sad look on his face after talking about Agate.

These are just some of them, there are TONS of stuff. To be fair though SC and Sky 3rd also continue this trend but it is remarkable how much the first game in this franchise does for it. Falcom really took a big risk here with this series. It also reminds me of Star Wars. Now I am not a big star wars fan but I gotta admit, the fact that George Lucas head the whole Clone Wars thing in his had as early as the first movie is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ remarkable. And go figure I love the Clone Wars cartoon. Asoka Tano might be my second fav character right after Estelle Bright.

It also has the simplest and probably the overall most interesting MAIN plot. It is a coup d'etat story. And damn it is well made. Propaganda, taking control of the army slowly, framing the royal guard etc etc... and all to just build a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ elevator. It is simply amazing. And that is just the main over all story. You also have a lot of full stories until then. The same thing happens in SC too for sure but FC is clearly the tightest one. Speaking of full stories along the way of the big story, I really miss this structure that sky had. In CS, every chapter is about us getting to learn about the places in Erobonia but none of the chapters have stories to them, they are all build up for the finale unlike in FC where the chapters did build its final chapter BUT also still had their own unique stories. CS2 follows CS1's path here too. I remember my first run of FC, towards the end of every chapter I was super hyped and had a satisfactory content but as soon as I started a new chapter it felt like another adventure. And in that regard in even SC doesn't compare to FC. Neither do the Crossbell games honestly.

I used to prefer Ao over FC as my first impressions of that game were great but after repeated playthroughs it started to lose some points for me (for example it is the start of some of the bs design choices in CS, I can't lie here).

My current list is something like this:

SC>FC>3rd>Zero>Ao>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>CS2>CS1.

I think overall CS1 is the better game but even though it is a pathetically easy game, I prefer playing CS2 more. Also CS1 just ends. Like people say FC also had a big cliffhanger BUT at least FC had a proper story and an ending. It just so happens that the ending leads to something bigger. Unlike in CS1 where it is clear that the devs rushed the game and couldn't finish it. There is no Falling action in CS1........hell I would argue whether there is a climax or not either.

[Oguzhan]

I wanna build up on the chapters having their own stories. In FC, you can actually take each chapter and make a game out of its story with the exception of the final chapter which just relies so much on the previous ones. You can't do that in any other game in the series.

In SC, sure you have proper events and resolution to those events but at the end those events are part of a bigger goal from the beginning.

Sky 3rd is just one big narrative. In fact if I had to take every game in a bubble without the overall story of the franchise, I would put 3rd right after FC in terms of narrative and story.

You can do it in Zero to an extend but its more like a detective show episode.

Ao, you can't do it. No ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ way.

CS1, that game doesn't even have a complete narrative as a whole.

CS2, again you can't do it.

[butterbattle22]

*sigh* FC really was the best. So many people get bored when they play it for the first time, but I was already a slice-of-life fan. It was a match made in heaven.

I actually enjoyed CSI significantly more than CS2. CSI still had some decent character storylines and sets up the Cold Steel arc while CS2 is just completely brain dead. Compared to some of the other Trails entries, CSII is basically a lot of fighting, with filler in between all the fighting. I now think that even CS3 develops the old class VII more than CS2. I mean, okay, the time skip is kinda lazy by Falcom standards, but Fie didn't join the Bracer guild in CSII. Elliot didn't become a renowned musician in CSII. Gaius didn't join the church in CSII (of course, I also think Gaius got completely shafted and his issues should've gotten more screentime. But since he's male and not the harem MC, we don't care about him, right? Baahh.)

I am hoping that with the implied reduced focus on Rean, CS4 will regain more of the lost quality from the previous arcs.

I guess this is about how I view it now.

FC>SC>AO>Zero>3rd>>>>>>>>>>>>CS1>>>>CS3>>>CS2

Not that I don't appreciate the amount of ground 3rd covers, but I still feel like the setting was largely a gimmick to simultaneously have a big dungeon pack and explicitly show all the backstories they want to show. A lot of it was amazing, but some of it also felt unnecessary. Good storytelling shows you a lot of things, but the best storytelling also doesn't show you a lot of things. It's beautiful to leave some things to our imagination and just mop up whatever you can as the train passes.

[Oguzhan]

Originally posted by butterbattle22:

*sigh* FC really was the best. So many people get bored when they play it for the first time, but I was already a slice-of-life fan. It was a match made in heaven.

I actually enjoyed CSI significantly more than CS2. CSI still had some decent character storylines and sets up the Cold Steel arc while CS2 is just completely brain dead. Compared to some of the other Trails entries, CSII is basically a lot of fighting, with filler in between all the fighting. I now think that even CS3 develops the old class VII more than CS2. I mean, okay, the time skip is kinda lazy by Falcom standards, but Fie didn't join the Bracer guild in CSII. Elliot didn't become a renowned musician in CSII. Gaius didn't join the church in CSII (of course, I also think Gaius got completely shafted and his issues should've gotten more screentime. But since he's male and not the harem MC, we don't care about him, right? Baahh.)

I am hoping that with the implied reduced focus on Rean, CS4 will regain more of the lost quality from the previous arcs.

I guess this is about how I view it now.

FC>SC>AO>Zero>3rd>>>>>>>>>>>>CS1>>>>CS3>>>CS2

Not that I don't appreciate the amount of ground 3rd covers, but I still feel like the setting was largely a gimmick to simultaneously have a big dungeon pack and explicitly show all the backstories they want to show. A lot of it was amazing, but some of it also felt unnecessary. Good storytelling shows you a lot of things, but the best storytelling also doesn't show you a lot of things. It's beautiful to leave some things to our imagination and just mop up whatever you can as the train passes.

3rd is basically the black sheep of the series. It does something different but it does do it well. I am currently replaying it again as part of my twice a year marathon and I can safely say that there is a lot of love put into it. A lot of optional cutscenes where I didn't expect them to be, character interactions and themes. Despite the 16 character roster, the game somehow manages to give everyone something to say. And they are always doing something in the garden.

The main plot of 3rd is very simple. It is a about a man tortured by what he has done in the past and his childhood friend who is finally going to learn the full truth. It is basically what some people try to defend CS narrative (focus on Rean) by saying that it is his story but done right. The plot focuses on Kevin but still manages to give other characters an opinion.

I am also in the midst of following Gambio's threat of CS2 fail run and I gotta say, I had never noticed how flanderized the side characters were in CS until yesterday. The knight is the knight, that's it. The noble kid is the noble kid (he can't even eat an apple?!?!?!?). The music kid is the music kid. Even Gaius whom I really like as a concept literally does ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I know something interesting happens with him in CS3 but even that kinda ruins an established rule about a certain thing. Even Rean is a bit of a flanderization.

[EverNight]

FC and SC are the same game. It's like saying do you like the first half of a movie or the last half. But...I think while SC has a lot of great moments they are more spread out than in FC. SC has longer periods where things drag a bit as opposed to always building momentum.
Chapter 8 for example. And while SC starts strong it totally slows down once Estelle starts training and doesn't really get edge of your seat again for quite a while.