The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

"All religions say one thing, basically, which is love is the secret of the universe" - George Lucas Trails in the Sky is a game where two young people falling in love saves the world, and I think that's beautiful. Not to get overly serious or meditative in a short steam review, but we live in a cynical world. As I've gotten a little order and a little more jaded I find myself more appreciative of this element of JRPGs and anime. I think as far as JRPGs go, it doesn't get a whole lot better than TITS (what an unfortunate acronym). SC picks up right where the first chapter ends, and takes its time building up to Joshua's return. I will avoid spoilers in this review when it comes to the plot but suffice it to say I think it was handled well. The pacing was acceptable and the character payoffs feel earned, well-considered, and mature. If I had a critique of the game's plot overall its that the stories revolving around the side characters and the enforcers feels a little long winded. Having to fight those guys like 3+ times each wasn't entirely necessary but its not a big deal. This isn't helped by the fact that the game gets more linear in the later chapters, personally I always valued the open world element of the first game. The length of the game isn't without it's merits if you can muscle through. The player's time is the one thing he or she truly invests into the playing of a game and if it's well utilized the game can manufacture a lot of pathos for it's characters, and trails accomplishes this in my opinion. The combat is what it is. I enjoyed it, but like the first chapter you reach a point where you've sort of figured it out. I played on normal and only had to retry a fight perhaps once or twice. It's there to provide texture and stakes for the conflicts in the plot, and it succeeds at that well enough. I enjoyed the quests which required you to invest crimes or navigate dialogues more than just fighting the monsters. The boss fights in the final acts had some good spectacle, though I am partial to the dated visual style of this game. The presentation and soundtrack are great, all quite cohesive and moving when it needs to be. Trails survives on it's characters and themes, like all good theater does. Olivier was my favorite, again, but really all the side-characters are great. I won't go into the details for spoiler reasons. Kevin is a great addition, and I look forward to learning more about him and the Gralsritter in the third game. The themes of love, faith, and control are central in the narrative. The antagonists are people ensorcelled in self-important dogma and isolation who exist as foils to reveal the power of love and freedom. It's a story boldly optimistic about human nature and character. Trails earns a spot as an essential JRPG in my book, easily recommended.

Greatest of all time. Zenith of the medium. Hallmark of media. Gold standard of storytelling. Apogee of creativity. Vertex of invention. Crest of ingenuity. Acme of imagination. Pinnacle of innovation. Epic of epics. Legend among legends. Peak fiction

This is my favourite game in the trilogy, the story, the characters, the history, a bunch of stuff about the world gets explained in this game, and the overall gameplay loop is favourite, ive spent the longest on this game compared to the others and it was for good reasons. if you get the first game. YOU HAVE TO GET THIS GAME AND THE NEXT, truly one of the best Trilogies in JRPG history.