Should i play Trails in the Sky the 3rd or move on to Zero?

[PyraType]

Hello, currently in the finale of Trails in the Sky SC and wanted to know if I should absolutely play the 3rd before zero? To my knowledge the main story of sky ends in second chapter. So, would be missing a lot by skipping? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Koby]

There is a lot of info dump in Sky 3rd and personally it's my favorite of the 3 Sky games.

I suppose it's fine to skip it if you really want. I would personally recommend not skipping it though.

[Berahlen]

3rd goes out of its way to set up Zero -- a lot of the stuff going on in the Empire, the behind-the-scenes deal with Kevin and the church, etc.

That said, 3rd tends to be hit or miss. The setting is a single long dungeon that's completely isolated from the rest of the world, the story focuses largely on side characters, and the side stories are told through flashbacks and sometimes end up being a bit too long winded even for Trails (Kloe's star door is just obnoxiously long with little payoff for instance). I enjoyed it, but take the criticism under consideration.

[Dr. Rudolf von Richten]

There is a lot of good stuff in this game that is directly relevant for the later entries in the series, and even more things that are worthwhile if you care enough about the characters to be interested in their backgrounds and futures even if they don't play a significant part later on.

The gameplay is also a lot of fun, since you start at high level and have the biggest variety of characters, crafts, accessories, quarts etc., as well as the opponents to match. What's more, it is the best balanced game of the Sky trilogy for higher difficulties.

You do need to be aware that most of the game takes place in an otherworldly dimension, meaning it's a dungeon crawler where the dungeons are either 'platforms floating in the void' (like in SC chapter 7) or reused assets from FC/SC locations.

This is not a bad thing, as long as you can accept it for what it is instead of lamenting what it is not: a third tour of Liberl, going to all the familiar locations yet again and talking to all the NPC's once more. Put that notion aside and you will be able to enjoy this game. :-)

[Stabbey]

Honestly the most offputting part of Sky the Third is Chapter 1. It comes after the banger of the prologue and you're put into a series of uninteractive cutscenes and an unappealing dungeon, then the first "Door" you encounter is a 30-minute long uninteractive cutscene with no chance to save inside.

[Dr. Rudolf von Richten]

Originally posted by Stabbey:

Honestly the most offputting part of Sky the Third is Chapter 1. It comes after the banger of the prologue and you're put into a series of uninteractive cutscenes and an unappealing dungeon, then the first "Door" you encounter is a 30-minute long uninteractive cutscene with no chance to save inside.

True. It doesn't help that that first Door has a mayor role for one of the worst characters in all of Trails, namely Erika Russel. Fortunately, even including this Door, Chapter 1 is fairly short, and from Chapter 2 onwards, things rapidly get more interesting as you get more characters, better environments and more worthwhile side content (i.e. Doors).

[Stabbey]

Originally posted by Dr. Rudolf von Richten:

True. It doesn't help that that first Door has a mayor role for one of the worst characters in all of Trails, namely Erika Russel.

Oh yes, that certainly doesn't help.

[Songbird]

Yeah, I'm starting the game out, and it's been absolutely painful with the structure up through chapter 1: Intro (actually good), VERY VERY LONG string of cutscenes with only the option to talk to a few NPCs in between, boss fight, long string of cutscenes with only walking short distances in between, small number of battles, cutscenes, just a couple more battles, VERY VERY LONG string of cutscenes with literally no interactivity. Like I was actively struggling not to fall asleep, because with a voice acting mod and attempting to listen to the dialog, it had to be something like four to five hours of cutscenes with maybe 30 minutes of gameplay in between. This is the seventh game in the series I've played, but nothing has been this badly paced so far.

Even worse, a lot of this cutscene time was uninteresting to me. It involved a lot of flashbacks and dragged out a lot of character-driven moments past the length that felt necessary to make the point.

I'm trusting others' opinions that it will get better after this.

[Dr. Rudolf von Richten]

Originally posted by Songbird:

I'm trusting others' opinions that it will get better after this.

It will. The slowness is very front-loaded; it will pick up when you get more characters and find more Doors. I don't think there is a sequence of cutscenes as long as that of the prologue until after the final boss fight. :-)

[it's-just-me]

Some of the sidequests (doors) set up the next games other than that its mostly insular story.

[Plinkk]

Originally posted by Stabbey:

Honestly the most offputting part of Sky the Third is Chapter 1. It comes after the banger of the prologue and you're put into a series of uninteractive cutscenes and an unappealing dungeon, then the first "Door" you encounter is a 30-minute long uninteractive cutscene with no chance to save inside.

I started playing it recently and that first door was brutal. I was just sitting there wondering if I even wanted to continue on. Even rushing through the dialogue was still 30 minutes worth.

[Scholar-at-Arms]

There is an enormous amount of story in 3rd, both character backstory for all the main characters (especially Kevin), and history and lore about the world. I've found it very satisfying, because it's scattered throughout the game and rewards you for completing side objectives and paying attention. I have not yet started Zero, but I believe I will be able to enjoy it more having seen all the stories in Third.

[Hat8]

I strongly advise you to play this game first. This is the last time that you will see alot of these characters and some of them were literally not in another Trails game for a decade or more after this game.

You get good lore for later games and you can complete some of their arcs and get vital info before going onto another cast of characters. Get this done while you're still really invested in Liberl.

[PyraType]

Originally posted by Hat8:

I strongly advise you to play this game first. This is the last time that you will see alot of these characters and some of them were literally not in another Trails game for a decade or more after this game.

You get good lore for later games and you can complete some of their arcs and get vital info before going onto another cast of characters. Get this done while you're still really invested in Liberl.

I am currently playing it in Chapter 2.

[Kappi701]

There is much background information, so I'd recommend to play it.
Even it is hard to play (for me) because of much reading and only little playing. Can't play it every day actually because when I'm tired from work, I can't read that much and need something more active to "do".
For me it's the worst of the 3 Sky-Games but still interesting.

[PyraType]

I did end up playing it and I beat it. Currently on Trails from Zero.