This game is quite a big step in Trails series for me.
There are a lot of good things gameplay wise, while there's also some questionable directions. But of course in Trails series, story trumps above all.
I think the biggest success of previous Trails games is that they succeed on world building. I keep thinking that early Trails games walk so future Trails games can run.
This game in particular seems to be taking inspiration from Persona series as well, as I can see some fingerprints of Persona in this game.
- Yet another exciting storyline, following Trails to Azure in the series.
- Rich characters create rich world. I like that even NPCs always have their own mini-stories so you can feel the world alive,
- Great music as always.
More fun quartz orbment implementation that let you go all out on building your characters.
Turbo mode feature is not toggle-able and felt like a step back from Azure.
Auto-unequipping your party gears whenever there's party change in the story is tedious. They should have asked if we want to keep the gear or not.
It seems they have mixed direction when making this game, as the protagonist is muted on a big chunk of scenarios, but fully voiced on the other half.
That cliffhanger at the finale is so mean. It really makes you want to go to the next game. Luckily I am playing this on 2025 and I can go ASAP. It must have been torture for OG fans.
Definitely would recommend this game if you enjoyed the previous Trails games.