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[Grimmy]

I imagine a PSVita port NEEDS the first game ported over first. That way people jumping straight to that can get a (hopefully superior) version that they can play and prepare for 2. It'll help them grow the audience further (and make up for those who don't make the jump in time) too, I guess the problem is how eager Falcom would be to do it... or probably more importantly, HOW quickly.

...you do know Vita can play PSP games on the PSN, right

XSEED should not have released FC if they weren't 100% sure about SC. I hope the fans give them an immense amount of crap because it's like stopping LotR at Fellowship.

I have a feeling neither XSEED (who needs to do the massive translation) or Falcom (who needs to do the reprogramming so the 2UMDs are in one file for PSN) thought the Trails 2 problem through when they began on 1.

 

[Eusis]

...you do know Vita can play PSP games on the PSN, right?

True, though a retail release probably helps. Then again I have no idea how PSP games will be updated on PSVita when downloaded to that, so that'd probably be enough there.

 

[Basileus777]

True, though a retail release probably helps. Then again I have no idea how PSP games will be updated on PSVita when downloaded to that, so that'd probably be enough there.

Why would they be updated? They are being emulated and upscaled to fit the Vita's screen. Mapping to the 2nd analogue can be done through emulation too.

 

[Yuterald]

I will seriously FLIP THE FUCK OUT if XSEED does not bring over the rest of the Trails games. That quote in the interview makes me really nervous. I'd really like to play SC on my original PSP as stubborn as that sounds.

God, gaming has become the biggest love/hate relationship as of late. The state of the industry is literally telling me to take a hike and fuck off.

 

[SpaceDrake]

XSEED should not have released FC if they weren't 100% sure about SC. I hope the fans give them an immense amount of crap because it's like stopping LotR at Fellowship.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. They released FC when they could, and it sounds like they know that not releasing SC would be Very Bad™ for their image. I'm sure they'll do their damnedest short of bankrupting themselves to make it work.

Still hope they can get the Falcom games on Steam, that's such an obvious way to expand their profits.

 

[Eusis]

Why would they be updated? They are being emulated and upscaled to fit the Vita's screen. Mapping to the 2nd analogue can be done through emulation too.

They were originally PC games, if you compared the PSP screens to PC screens you could see the PC had notably nicer textures, not to mention the native resolution portraits is higher than was practical to display on the PSP. There's also the matter of running in 60 FPS, but that's not a big deal for a game like this.

 

[SpaceDrake]

They were originally PC games, if you compared the PSP screens to PC screens you could see the PC had notably nicer textures, not to mention the native resolution portraits is higher than was practical to display on the PSP. There's also the matter of running in 60 FPS, but that's not a big deal for a game like this.

Not to mention the fact that the PC version could use 32-bit color instead of 16-bit like the PSP version does, which means the PC version isn't dithered to shit in places like the PSP version is.

 

[wrowa]

I have a feeling neither XSEED (who needs to do the massive translation) or Falcom (who needs to do the reprogramming so the 2UMDs are in one file for PSN) thought the Trails 2 problem through when they began on 1.

Then both companies are really dumb.

The death of the PSP market is nothing that came by surprise. When XSEED announced the Trails localisations, everyone was skeptical due to the circumstances involving the PSP, the state of UMDs and SnK2's download problems.

And I'm not kidding. Look at older GAF threads and you will see many posts raising those questions.

If both XSEED and Falcom weren't aware of those problems too, then I don't understand how XSEED managed to stay in business until this day.


But, yeah, I really hope for a Steam release. I guess they are wary to release a full-price game on Steam/other PC services? The additional costs revolving the release of the PC version should be rather small -- and our very own SpaceDrake has shown that JRPGs on Steam can become a success story.

Or maybe Falcom isn't interested in licensing the PC versions to XSEED? They don't really do PC anymore after all.

 

[Labadal]

Regarding 2 UMDs and PSN. Couldn't they have two files for each disc? You buy disc 1 from the store at full price, wich gives you access to disc 2.

 

[MechaX]

XSEED should not have released FC if they weren't 100% sure about SC. I hope the fans give them an immense amount of crap because it's like stopping LotR at Fellowship.

I think XSEED just wasn't fully expecting how much worse the PSP market in the west would truly become. We're at the point where companies like SEGA are starting to affirm "no more psp in the west" policies at the expense of high quality, fan-adored titles like Valkyria Chronicles 3. They definitely should have worked out the kinks with PSN way ahead of time, however.

Regarding 2 UMDs and PSN. Couldn't they have two files for each disc? You buy disc 1 from the store at full price, wich gives you access to disc 2.

I think the issue with that is that you had to change UMDs when going to certain areas.

 

[Cheska]

Yay! Finally finished the prologue I am seriously digging this game now and have had more laugh out loud moments just reading the banter between the characters than I have in any other recent games I've played.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Since people keep hammering on that is supposed to actually be a genuinly good RPG, I'm trying to give it a second chance (only made it to junior bracer and 3 of those guild side quests before I was bored out of my mind the first time).

Since rpgs are generally RUINED by playing them with a walkthrough , and faqs/looking up stuff usually results in a ton of spoilers, I'm asking it here:

-Are there any (important/ultimate weapon/magic) missables? (think the first guardian force in ff8; where if you don't know you have to steal it from the very earliest boss -which at that point in the game you don't unless you happen to use inspect on the boss- you miss it for good, that game has damaged me for good as a gamer, fuck you SE)

-any general tips or advice?

-I got a topaz talisman from a chest in the prologue, do I understand it right and does this basically assign the earth element to anything I do ? (which makes it really shitty unless you save constantly and reload to equip it vs earth weak bosses or use a guide etc, aka pointless shit).


I tried looking for tips on google first but all I came across was bollox about 'farming shining poms' and 'infinite gold by abusing such and so mechanics',so only ways to break and ruin the game or stuff for those who get off on grinding.

Finding it hard to push on atm, the story isn't picking up at all and the combat is very repetitive.

 

[Duran]

There are a few things you can miss such as hidden quests and Carnelia Chapters. If you collect all of the chapters, which are easily missable without a guide, you get either Estelle's OR Joshua's best weapon in the game, but it certainly isn't that much of an upgrade over their second best. Hidden quests are necessary to complete to get the highest BP which unlocks a Quartz in the next game if XSEED is able to bring it over. If this bothers you, just look up the Hidden Quest / Carnelia book section of a FAQ that should be separate from the main walkthrough.

Quests generally have a small window of time to complete before they go away forever, so you should try to complete them ASAP after you see them on the bulletin board.

Talismans do indeed set an element to a character so you take more damage to that elements weakness as well. However, Arts are unaffected by them. I don't really bother with the talismans as they are unnecessary but they may be useful against certain mobs in chests.

The game is really slow until around the end of Chapter 2, as new elements in the story are introduced..

The playful, humorous dialogue and story really are the highlights of this game, you don't have to put that much time each time you pick up your PSP if it bores you. But once you hit the point where the story picks up you may find it hard to put down.
Hope you enjoy it, I certainly did.

P.S XSEED you better bring the rest of the trilogy over, there was even a trailer for the next game at the end and all that.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Thanks, that's a great summary.
I'll definitely check out those parts of some faqs.

Do those ultimate weapons allow for some unique spell or ability or effect? Or is it just a stat upgrade (could not possibly care any less about it if it is the latter )

 

[Duran]

Yeah, just a simple attack upgrade, nothing special and hardly noticeable.

 

[Solune]

Just going to leave these here.

Trails in the Sky
Silver Will

So damn good.

 

[Augemitbutter]

so good. i'll have to get some CDs once i've explored the series a bit more.

 

[Duran]

I've spoiled myself on so much of the music in SC and 3rd that I really want to play just to get to the parts in the game where some songs play. I can't wait another year or two for the next installment :\

 

[Hours Left]

Some more from XSEED regarding their relationship with Falcom.

"You know, they’ve actually gone in and localized everything themselves, which is new for them," Berry explained. Before working with Xseed, Falcom titles were brought over by companies like Konami and Atlus which released a DS port actually developed by Interchannel in Japan. "All of their other projects that hit the US before, they’ve always left the programming or the porting to another company and quality did suffer a lot of times. We let them see a new model where they are localizing it to put out the best product possible."

"At the same time there is a tradeoff is that if they are too busy working on other products, like they are right now, the flow of games sort of slows. They’re a small company and they are working on so many new products right now they don’t have time to assign a programmer on localization for us. That’s slowed up a little bit, but we think as soon as they finish up with some of their products they are working on now, hopefully we can get back to localizing some of their titles." Falcom is currently working on The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Blue for PSP and a PlayStation Vita launch title they’re being awfully quiet about.

Xseed can handle six to eight decent size titles per year. I asked Berry how many games Trails in the Sky counts as. He laughed for a second before saying, "Yeah, that would take up about half of that capacity, to be honest with you."

Source

So patience seems to be the key here. I know everyone is chomping at the bit for SC (myself included), but at least it seems that they have a really good partnership going and are committed to continue releasing their games.

Though I'm already going through severe Trails withdrawal.

 

[chaosblade]

Some more from XSEED regarding their relationship with Falcom.


Source

So patience seems to be the key here. I know everyone is chomping at the bit for SC (myself included), but at least it seems that they have a really good partnership going and are committed to continue releasing their games.

Though I'm already going through severe Trails withdrawal.

Yeah, Tom also posted something about their relationship over on XSEED's forums.

Yeah, there's a lot I can't answer, but I can say that the partnership occurred before I started at XSEED (in fact, the partnership is part of the reason I was hired, as XSEED really wanted someone on staff who was extremely familiar with Falcom's games), and that it's a full-on partnership -- which, on our end at least, basically means that we get first dibs on translating any Falcom game, and that Falcom will work with us to get their games translated and published in the western world whenever they have the resources available to do so.

Falcom's been an absolute joy to work with so far, and we see no reason why this relationship can't continue indefinitely. We really hope it does, too -- in my admittedly short time working at XSEED, I've been very impressed with how quickly Falcom responds to our emails, how accommodating they are of our requests, and how generally sociable and competent (and dedicated) they seem. I've been in the video game industry for about 7 years at this point, and Falcom seems like one of the most "together" companies out there -- no fuss, no muss, just a talented group of awesome developers.

I guess the best short answer to all your questions is: Think of our relationship with Falcom like Atlus' relationship with Sting, or NIS America's relationship with GUST. It's a very similar situation.

-Tom

 

[Akainu]

So I beat this earlier today and man what a ending. I don't remember being hit with a plot twist like that for sometime, didn't see it coming at all. Can't wait for the second chapter. That teaser/trailer at the end just makes me want it more.

 

[Hours Left]

An enlightening post from Wyrdwad (Tom of XSEED) concerning the PSP in North America.

The PSP may be on its way out in North America, but it ain't dead yet. We're still evaluating PSP games, and we're still more than happy to publish them if we can do so without... you know... dying a slow, painful death as a company.

I know other smaller publishers feel the same. Look at Aksys Games, for example -- they just announced two PSP titles: Fate/Extra and Hakuoki. And we've even hinted in interviews and on our message boards that one of our next titles is to be a unique horror game for the PSP.

What you may see over the next few years is a larger number of PSP games released as PSN download-only titles, since it may be harder for publishers to justify the production costs for UMDs and cases and shelf space in GameStop and such... but you'll still see PSP games, either way.

The system is far from dead.

---

Edit: And here's some quotes from Ken of XSEED from his interview with Siliconera.

Siliconera: Specific to Falcom, many of their games for PSP and it is a difficult market for North America already. With PlayStation Vita on the horizon, I don’t think being a PSP publisher is going to be any easier. Xseed committed to localizing the Trails in the Sky series and there are so many other Falcom games like the following titles also for PSP. How are you going to handle this?

Ken: There are definitely a lot of challenges there. We actually went into the project the PSP still had a little bit more life in it than it does now. We’ve been experiencing some technical issues where the second chapter of Trails in the Sky – because it was released on two UMDs and because of the amount of time it takes to localize such a huge title like that, that the UMD format may not be available when it is ready to publish.

By that same token it’s so large and taking up two UMDs, Falcom is having some problem putting it on the PSN Store for digital download, as well. Those are some of the issues we’re working on and yes as you mentioned there are other titles after Trails in the Sky and those games are absolutely massive games too. We really need to just think about that some more and figure out how we can just translate so much text.

Siliconera: Have you thought about other options like the PSP remaster series, so the Falcom games would get more of a fair chance in retail?

Ken: Absolutely. You have to keep in mind that Falcom originally started on PC so they are PC experts. We’ve talked to them numerous times about looking at Steam and numerous platforms. That is something Falcom is open to. Hopefully, if their resources open up we can have more serious discussions about – maybe this franchise won’t be able to recoup the investment on this platform, but if we can spread that out on a couple platforms maybe that would be a safer bet for both of us.

Edit 2: Quote about unrelated PSP horror game removed. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[SerArthurDayne]

That is a pretty interesting localization arrangement. I really have no knowledge of the business end of things anyways, and I had no idea Xseed was so small. But theoretically the text input should be easier than the actual process of translating right? It seems like that is the major bottleneck to release anyways. So as long as the translation is moving along that is good news, unless I am completely missing the boat on something. I mean I guess it would be better if the game was ready for text input and then sent out of the shop, but we aren't in a necessarily bad place at this point.

I would prefer Vita ports over PSN (or even UMDs, but that doesn't seem likely), but will take what I can get. I understand I'm the old man of the digital revolution. I'll miss the premium editions, though.

 

[chaosblade]

Really glad to hear confirmation that they are considering Steam releases, even more so that Falcom might be open to it. XSEED has been really quiet about that on their forums. That's the best news to come out of all of this, I am totally confident that these games would do well there, and that could influence them to bring Zero and Ao no Kiseki over as well.

 

[Adam Prime]

Thanks for posting the interviews, good stuff. Glad to hear they're committed, I hope everything works out and they are able to release them.

... I'd be down for PSN-only release. Like they said, there's nothing to stop publishers from pushing out PSN only PSP games and having them run on Vita. The original PSP doesn't have to stop once the Vita hits.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Sounds like XSEED is still committed to the project, but still isn't sure how they're going to be able to pull it off. I'm glad they've talked to Falcom about Steam, but it sounds like Falcom isn't able right now to help with that or with getting Trails in the Sky SC done. Hopefully once they get Ao no Kiseki and their Vita launch title out of the way, they can start working with XSEED again.

I am a little worried about the statement "We really need to just think about that some more and figure out how we can just translate so much text." It raises the possibility that they'll just run out of endurance and decide the Kiseki series is too much work to be worth it after all. Which would be a great shame.

 

[Hours Left]

Sounds like XSEED is still committed to the project, but still isn't sure how they're going to be able to pull it off. I'm glad they've talked to Falcom about Steam, but it sounds like Falcom isn't able right now to help with that or with getting Trails in the Sky SC done. Hopefully once they get Ao no Kiseki and their Vita launch title out of the way, they can start working with XSEED again.

I am a little worried about the statement "We really need to just think about that some more and figure out how we can just translate so much text." It raises the possibility that they'll just run out of endurance and decide the Kiseki series is too much work to be worth it after all. Which would be a great shame.

That would crush me, but I think they've really found a solid partner in Falcom, and Falcom is definitely going forward with the Kiseki series full force and I'd imagine that would be what they'd want XSEED to focus on.

XSEED is such a small company though, I wonder how much difference just hiring a few more translators would make.

 

[Dragon]

So I beat this earlier today and man what a ending. I don't remember being hit with a plot twist like that for sometime, didn't see it coming at all. Can't wait for the second chapter. That teaser/trailer at the end just makes me want it more.

Yeah that ending completely comes out of left field in terms of who is involved.

 

[Cheska]

Chapter 2 get! I'm sad, it's back to two characters

 

[Duran]

Don't worry you'll get a new one soon whom I adore

 

[Hours Left]

On a slightly off-topic note, the opening to Ao no Kiseki is AWESOME.

Why do I torture myself though? We won't be getting that game for years! @_@

 

[Duran]

And about Trails SC...

That is actually about the PSP horror game that they are planning to release. Despite that, SC is definitely coming.

 

[Hours Left]

That is actually about the PSP horror game that they are planning to release. Despite that, SC is definitely coming.

Yeah, I just went over that topic again.

Fixing previous post. Sorry everyone.

 

[vall03]

On a slightly off-topic note, the opening to Ao no Kiseki is AWESOME.

Why do I torture myself though? We won't be getting that game for years! @_@

Im planning to import it, even though I wont understand and play it....

 

[SerArthurDayne]

Holy shit. Last dungeon is HUGE! At least there are no diminishing returns on experience. At least not yet.

 

[Amon37]

Can someone direct me to faq in the quartz combinations? Im having a hard time getting all the matchups right to grab higher level healing spells and aoe offensive spells.

Im in chapter 2 right now at ruan.

 

[Raitosaito]

I was wondering if I should do all the sidequest? Right now the game feels extrmely slow and tedious because I keep doing them, but usually I can tolerate it playing JRPGs most of my life.

Would TITS feel any faster and more engaging if I just said "fuck it" the sidequests?

 

[Macstorm]

Would TITS feel any faster and more engaging if I just said "fuck it" the sidequests?

As much as I love the game, I skippped most sidequests. I hate sidequests in almost every RPG, though.

 

[chaosblade]

I was wondering if I should do all the sidequest? Right now the game feels extrmely slow and tedious because I keep doing them, but usually I can tolerate it playing JRPGs.

Would TITS feel any faster and more engaging if I just said "fuck it" the sidequests?

Those are your primary means for getting money. You can sell sepith, but you might regret that later in the game.

I don't think there's any reward for the side quests unless you get max BP (gives you an item in SC when you do a data transfer IIRC) and it's extremely unlikely that you'll get max BP without a guide. So yeah, it might be worth it to you.

Can someone direct me to faq in the quartz combinations? Im having a hard time getting all the matchups right to grab higher level healing spells and aoe offensive spells.

Im in chapter 2 right now at ruan.

The combinations are in the bracer notebook. It has a page for each element and shows what's required. Remember to keep the branches of the orbment in mind.

I didn't see any specific FAQs for quartz, but there are a bunch of full guides for the game that have sections on quartz.

 

[SpaceDrake]

As much as I love the game, I skippped most sidequests. I hate sidequests in almost every RPG, though.

You miss out on so much of the Little Shit in the world that gives the game its charm if you do that, though.

That said, if the game is dragging, skipping the sidequests will speed things up tremendously, Raitosaito.

 

[Duran]

I was wondering if I should do all the sidequest? Right now the game feels extrmely slow and tedious because I keep doing them, but usually I can tolerate it playing JRPGs most of my life.

Would TITS feel any faster and more engaging if I just said "fuck it" the sidequests?

Definitely it would feel faster. A lot of quests involve running around town and backtracking (curse the Sneaker quest...) which eats up play time. A normal playthrough without quests takes about 30 hours, with them it can go up to 50. Like someone said you'll be short on cash though and you should try to keep most of your sepith (at least Space, Time, Mirage).

 

[Eusis]

You could also try skipping the ones just about hunting down monsters to kill. Other ones will give extra story events to watch, while those are just about overcoming tough challenges. Personally I loved most of the quests, either because I liked the battle system a ton (only complaint is that it doesn't move faster, and I'd rather deal with this than something like Lost Odyssey) or liked watching those events happen. Was a bit of a pain to extensively follow a guide for quests to make sure I didn't miss them though.

 

[Duran]

I forgot where I found this posted, but did anyone know that you can meet Anelace a couple of times before Chapter 4? She actually had a major role in Chapter 1!

Edit: Video with scenes, spoilers obviously. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBYvgVvliLU

 

[Hours Left]

Yeah, that was pretty cool. Probably wouldn't be that exciting for some people if they don't know who she is, but I liked all the extra backstory you learn.

*Trails Series Spoilers*

Spoiler

It's also cool just to interact with future party members. I felt the same about all the scenes with Mueller, Julia and Kurt. Even Josette, though she's kinda annoying.

 

[SerArthurDayne]

Just beat it. About 50 hours total. Kept me up late. Good Fun, great characters, good story. Too easy. I don't believe I actually got wiped once. I have an endgame question:

Spoiler

What did Alba actually do to Joshua? It seems like Joshua always knew who he was/had been. I guess Alba revealed to him that he was also a sleeper agent? Did Alba release him from that hypnosis? Or did he actually unlock certain of his memories? I can't see how he wouldn't have his memories, as his being taken by Cassius was kind of a spur of the moment thing, of course the same could be said of the spying, but all of the members of the cult could be indoctrinated that way. I don't know. I'm too afraid to google it for clarification for fear of SC spoilers.

Thanks.

 

[SpaceDrake]

The non-SC-spoiler version, as it is a hair unclear:

Spoiler

Joshua always remembered that Ouroboros and "someone" had sent him to attack Cassius, and that failure seems to have meant death; Cassius saved him and took him home, and Joshua was thus living in constant mortal terror that the agents of Ouroboros would one day come for him again. Remember that scene at the hotel toward the end of chapter 4, when it turned out to be Sieg dropping off a memo? There's a reason Joshua was so paranoid. And it's why he's so paranoid about meeting a man with "ash-blonde hair" - he remembers that's another ranking agent, and if he's around, that probably means Ouroboros is after Joshua.

Joshua doesn't want to drag the Brights, or especially Estelle, into that mess. But that's what eats him up and what Weissmann, AKA Alba, makes him realize; Ouroboros has ALWAYS been there, he's been a mole from the start, and Weissmann's had his eye on J the entire time. Weissmann and company probably could have polished Estelle, at least, off at any moment; they just chose not to, because Joshua was more useful where he was. Now that Cassius is dealt with and phase one of the plan is over, Joshua is "free" to do what he wants... while living with the memories of having quietly betrayed Estelle over and over. Remember those moments when J would just disappear for a bit?

Weissmann's intent is pretty much stated: either the memories will torment Joshua back into the fold, or drive him away or to try to fight Ouroboros himself, where he will be... dealt with. Either way, Ouroboros gets ahead. That's what Weissmann did - he made Joshua realize the scope of what was really going on and remember exactly who sent him and what he was really sent to do. Joshua was a sleeper agent who's just been woken up.

For a bit of (mostly) non-spoiler content, the music related to what we're talking about is one of my favorite tracks from the OST, and I'm sad it wasn't on the shortened OST in the LE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh2FJ106XXI

It's just that perfect mix of creepy and heartbreaking.

 

[Amon37]

Lol best line yet,

You oughta go home and get back to sucking on your mama's tit.

 

[Hours Left]

For a bit of (mostly) non-spoiler content, the music related to what we're talking about is one of my favorite tracks from the OST, and I'm sad it wasn't on the shortened OST in the LE

So many new status portraits during that scene.

When the first "change" happened, I was like... :O

Severe spoilerphobes still probably shouldn't click that link. If they're like me, they would analyze every detail of that picture.

 

[Eusis]

Severe spoilerphobes still probably shouldn't click that link. If they're like me, they would analyze every detail of that picture.

Anyone who beat the first game is definitely safe to click it. I already guessed what song he was referring to, and I think I can see why it was excluded from the LE soundtrack since

Spoiler

it gives away that the ending is bittersweet.

 

[Hours Left]

Anyone who beat the first game is definitely safe to click it. I already guessed what song he was referring to, and I think I can see why it was excluded from the LE soundtrack since

Spoiler

it gives away that the ending is bittersweet.

Yeah, I meant it more for people that are still playing the first one.

I'd advocate avoiding all spoilers for this game. I was spoiled from reading some articles a loooooooooooooong time ago about the series when it was still assumed that it would never be brought over. And my memory doesn't let me forget anything like that.

And even though I was spoiled on some stuff, I still LOVED that game, so I can imagine how mind blowing it would be to go in completely fresh.