What Trails Game Should You Play First? (Reverie Edition) | Backlog Battle

I'll be honest, I bought all the Kiseki games that have come out on Switch (before the price keeps going up) and haven't played one yet due to over analyzing where to start. This helped a lot. I've purchased the Sky trilogy, Cold Steel I, and Cold Steel II on steam deck now so I can enjoy them in order.

I've started fc. Intend to play them all. The new persona games dropping early next year tho so this is gonna take a long time. I like that there are so many to get through because when I ran out of persona I was very sad.

I watched the Trails in the Sky recaps by Lady Virgilia (I wrote this before you mentioned it, hype!), then played Crossbell on Switch, and now I’ve played CS1 and 2 on my PS5 — I’m in love with this series and I can’t get enough. I can’t remember the last time I’ve lost sleep playing late and wanted the work day to be over just to keep playing. I’m excited to get caught up; I may even play Sky trilogy after I finish Reverie to experience it for myself, as I’ll probably have time before Daybreak comes out… I’m just disappointed that Sky isn’t on anything but PC, and CS1-2 are not on Switch. Ideally, I’d have started from FC and played every game on Switch, if they were on there, but now I had to switch to Playstation I’m going to do CS 3-4 and Reverie probably on PS5, especially since I’m getting the Portal on day one next month.

I started after buying Cold Steel 1 and played the next 3 games right after (LOVED IT!), I tried to play Sky FC but i just couldn't get into the 2D Sprites, Thats just me tho

Great thing i have a switch and good gaming PC. I can play all the trails.

Seeing how good the first five were and then seeing Cold Steel slowly turn up the annoying permanent harem anime tropes and flanderized characters was the worst thing about playing the trails games so far. I can only recommend them all :D

I clicked on this video worried about what it would be, and I was exactly right. There is no better way to start than Sky 1. That's it. I'll like the video because I think you at least make some fair points, and I can tell you did put some thought into it. I think it would be rude of me otherwise since I'm about to get a bit mean.

If we have to choose a different arc, Crossbell is a maybe. Crossbell is easily the peak of the series, so I'm concerned about someone starting there, not to mention the aspects of the overarching story (especially a certain purple haired character).
Cold Steel is a definite no, as those games will do more to scare off a player with their mechanics and tedium than any other game will.

Sky 1 is the best way to start. Yes, it's a lot of games. Yes, it can be intimidating. I don't care. If a player isn't willing to put in the work, then they should consider playing different games. The last thing this franchise needs is a larger and more mainstream fanbase. We saw Cold Steel attempt to appeal to a wider market with the built-in dating sim and main character (plus a lot of other negative aspects), and it caused the game's quality to suffer as a result.

tl;dr If you won't start with Sky 1, play a different game.

I would point out that all these games are on GeForce Now. Which means if you own a compatible TV (I own a Samsung smart TV), you can connect a controller to the TV and play your Steam purchased game on your TV like a console. Just another accessibility option.

Quick answer, play the first game first.😮😮😮

I started with Trails from Zero because the cast looked most interesting. A couple hours in and clearly it stands alone very well. The game is really great so far

If you have a Vita or PSTV you can play the Trails in the Sky updated Evolution versions including 3rd in English. Fans translated them and the games look and sound amazing on Vita.

I just started with the sky games and in love now!

So basically if you don’t have a PC it’s not worth playing the others on console I guess

I started a couple years ago with Sky FC, enjoyed most of it and quickly started SC after it, but abandoned SC around chapter 2 and never went back yet. So I guess starting from the beginning didn't work out well for me. I'll probably try starting from Zero some day.

CS1 is the best jumping on point IMO. I'd played about half the prologue of FC years ago and lost interest, but after CS1 I blasted through the game in a week and loved it. I still think the early game drags. I kind of found some of the same early-game slog issues in From Zero as FC has. CS1 is really approachable, the pacing is a bit more even than Zero, players get the persona Like elements. It has some of the same early game issues (start of chapter 1 is really slow in getting you back into the action) but it's not quite as bad. Also it's much more forgiving of playing blind than Zero.

I started with CS3 and when it ended on a cliffhanger I immediately went and bought CS4. And oh boy did that and ever scratch my itch to go play the other games so I completely agree that there is no wrong way to play these games. That said I would say as you have said Sky 1, Zero, CS1, but also CS3 are your best entry points. I haven't gotten a chance to play Reverie yet since my limited edition is stuck in NIS preorder limbo. If you start any of these games you will be obsessed with playing all of them.

I wanted to play Cold steel but everyone said you have to start with first chapter. I played through first chapter and it was tough for me because the story was very bland and cliche until you get towards the very end. So it took a lot for me to get all the way through and then I heard second chapter starts out very slow again. So I actually kind of dropped the whole series. I'll have to check out the summaries and maybe just pick up Cold steel like I've wanted to in the first place.

I started with cold steel 1+2. then now I played Sky trilogy recently and will start Zero and Azure next, before I continue with Cold Steel 3+4 🤣 not exactly the right order. But a friend of mine only played Cold Steel 1-4 and still enjoyed them a lot, without her playing sky or the crossbill arc so far. But I will still replay cold steel 1 and 2 after I finished liberl and Crossbell arcs. Love the connections those games have 👍🏻😊 my friend wanted to play Sky First Chapter but it was to difficult for her (she normally plays games in easy) and Sky 1st didn’t have an easy option to play. 🙈

Thank you so much. I needed affirmation to go with Trails from Zero, which four other videos I watched said is the worst choice to start with. But this is the game that interests me most.

A bummer that not all of the games are on the Switch. That would be the ideal way for me to experience this whole 1000 hour saga. :)

I started playing this series at Triails of Cold steel 1. I have played 1, 2 3 and 4 I"m currently playing Rivere right now and I wished I played the crossbell games before it evwn though I have both zero and Azure. After I finish Rivere I'm thinking of going back to playing the sky arc and then the Crossbell arc .

Oh thank you!, I was very kinda "nope" because there are too many games and I don't have that much time, also going back to some games thta may have aged mechanics can't be that good for a newcomer (kinda happened to me with Star ocean first departure, nice game but it shows its age in some systems). So I'm now decided to star with Crossbell, watch summaries of the others and see of i can fall in love with the series and who knows, i may jump into reverie (I only have the switch, so i may be limited at what games are available for me haha).

I started with Trails of Cold Steel and have played them through till 4. I have loved the series and decided to buy the Sky series to play.
Only question for me now is do I play the Sky and Crossbell arcs before Trails to Reverie?

Working on Sky 3rd, so are its amazing but I hear about a very emotional point I have yet to get tooo

Great video! You have probably the most reasonable approach to this series that I’ve seen on this platform. I feel like too many fans, whether knowing or unknowingly, gate keep others from this series. I’ve heard or had so many Trails fans tell me that I HAVE to start with the Sky trilogy. Look, I understand the fans of this series are passionate. I’m one of them. But if you really love the series, it seems like you wouldn’t want to scare people away. It doesn’t help incentivize more people to give the series a chance. Personally, I started with Cold Steel 1. I hadn’t even heard of this series before that game. I fell in love with this franchise & it prompted me to seek out the other games. Let people get in where they fit in I say. Eventually, we all arrive at the same destination.

I jumped around a bit through the series personally. I first discovered it through Cold Steel with the PS4 release.
I played through Cold Steel 1 and 2, then backtracked and played through Sky FC and SC.
Went back to Cold Steel upon 3's release, followed by 4.
Decided to go back to play Sky 3rd after all the numerous references CS4 made to Phantasma, and then finally experienced Zero and Azure upon the releases of Geofront team's original translation patches.
And now I just started my Journey through Reverie yesterday.

idk about the stories, im just play the latest trail game thats all

I started with Cold Steel 1 around the time that it came out and was ultimately underwhelmed, but it also kind planted a seed in my brain and got me interested in Trails in the Sky which I played through this year and loved and I'm now pretty far into SC and plan to go to 3rd and so on until I've played through the entire series. I just hope that Cold Steel 2 will be more interesting than Cold Steel 1 or perhaps it will be more fun to play just because I will have built up for it with the rest of the series until then.

that's not how fomo works, but I understand what you were getting at.

Switch + Moonlight = all trails games on my switch and PC + Laptop and I can use the same saves on all devices.
Love that.

I started with Zero, then Azure. Then I did the Sky trilogy and played crossbell duology again (I'm redoing azure RN). I can't wait to get to Cold Steel and reverie ! <3

Man trails in the sky heroes just blew the rest out the water for me.

Glad you made this video, I just got into the trails series and was fortunate enough to pick up Zero/Azure, Coldsteel 3/4/ and Reverie all on the switch. Will probably have to buy 1 and 2 digitally when I get to the coldsteel arc. But will for sure be starting up the crossbell arc.

I have start with cold steel 1, at the end of cold steel 2 i know that i should stop and play the old games but i play rpg only on consoles, the story of Rean interest me so i want to continue and the bigest reason is that i love Altina so i want to play her
At the end of cold steel 4 i regret not knowing the old characters so now i play trails from zero and i will do a ng+ of cold steel 4 after azure. I love those games but yeah it's complicated to follow.

Sometimes there is no right answer but in this case the answer is very straight forward. You have to start from the beginning with Trails in the Sky FC. There are entire chapters in the later games that follow up on previous games.

So many videos I have seen on my feed where to start and I always stand by what I say and its always Skys FC. The threads begin to connect fully by I say CSIII, but they always drop little hints each following game about the previous one. I remember replaying CS 1 or may have been CS2 and they talk about the red constellation Yegar corps. Think it was millium who talked about them.

To get full picture play from sky first chapter and do all the side quest and speak to all npcs cause sometimes even those stories come around full circle! Looking at you Anton and ricky!!! xD

Well being I started with Cold Steel 1 myself I have a little bit of a bias.. I see nothing wrong with starting with the TOCS quadrilogy.. Then maybe doing the Sky duology or trilogy if possible then working your way to Crossbell..

That said I can also see why someone would disagree with me and go in perfect order.. Regardless what arc you ultimately decide firstly try to follow the numbers in order anyways

Is this like, actually a question? You miss out on a TON if you don't play in release order. Start with Zero and you're missing out on Joshua and Estelle's importance, what's up with Renne, what happened with Orobouros and the Liber Arc. I'm only on chapter 2 of CS1, but there's already been tons of connections to Arianhrod, the Phantasmal Blaze plan, and the Western Zemuria trade conference drawn. You gotta start with Sky FC if you ain't a turkey

Don't mind me as I sail the seven sees to experience it all haha Don't mind me at all!... 👀

I started last year I'm on sky the 3rd and I'm really having a blast. Really a great series which reward you for your time investment.

Im in the beginning-ish of Cold Steel 2
I’m near the end of Trails Zero
I just bought Reverie…

😖😖😖😖

I've just started with Trails from Zero and had loads of fun.

While there were clear indications of links to past Sky games from time to time, I didn't feel like I was missing key elements to get what was currently happening. The game does a good job to fill you in when necessary.

I plan to play Azure next to finish the Crossbell arc and probably go through Cold Steel next. I'll then maybe take a break at one point to play the Sky trilogy as a "prequel".

trails in the sky is really gooood. If you skip this arc and watch a summary, i think you will miss out a lot. It's not about the end but your journey with trails games.

Sky>>>>>> Coldsteel 1+2>>>>>>>Zero>>>>>>>>anything else. Zero is just too much of a sequel to be a good entry point compared to Coldsteel 1&2 which come with mostly vague callbacks.

It's easy, just don't start with the bad one.

I started from Trails of Cold Steel. I own Trails in the Sky, and have been intending to play it, but the game is so FRUSTRATING. I walk into a zone trying to find my sidequests/explore for chests, and now all of my sidequests are failed because the story moved on! And my last save was an hour ago! I just couldn't go on. xD

I'll be honest, I started from Trails of Cold Steel 1. This was a complete accident, I only saw TOCS 1 and assumed that TOCS was the entire series at first. I tried playing through Trails in the Sky but it was kinda rough, so I ended up watching summaries and watching some playthroughs of the other games. Is this a good route to take? Not really, but it worked for me while still letting me enjoy the characters and stories. In my opinion, choose what you think will work best and don't be scared to play a newer game first, whether you wanna play the older games after that is up to you. Just make sure its fun and doesn't become a Zemurian history class.

I am currently streaming the entire series ng+ here on Saturdays if you want to experience the series. I do the voices on how I would imagine these characters sounding like. Currently on Sky the 3rd

Immediately got Trails in Reverie for PC when it released and I have spent 4 hours in the very beginning, just after the Prologue, talking to people. I know I can move on, but got damn is it nice to see how far we've come. I still have strong feelings about the story beats of CS4, but I'm glad we're here.

The order I played: SkyFC, SC, 3rd, CSI, CSII, CSIII, Zero, Azure. I'm on the final chapter of Azure right now. I played Trails in the Sky FC I think 5 years ago. I was looking for RPGs to play on the DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita with a female protagonist. I found Estelle and I've been a trails fan (or Estelle fan?) ever since. lol

I played trails in the sky for hours and hours and thought it was boring. but I still want to get into it