400 hours...for this crap (Cold Steel IV/Series rant and Open Spoilers)

[Dust]

I just finished CSIV AFTER TWO AND HALF FUCKING MONTHS of playing. I magically avoided spoilers.
Fuck, I have been warned. Warned by JP players, importers and western players.
But dear god am I mad at this garbage writing.

The gameplay/music/structure was expected as of Falcom like always so I enjoyed that as a game, but writing? This shitty game undid every single set up from CS III, every single one. Every "villain" is redeemed, every death was "lol trolled", everyone gets cookie cutter good ending, the main villain turns out to be literally the most generic THE EVIL ™ curse that's get banished by power of friendship.

I still like Falcom and I still like Falcom games, but Cold Steel was hands down their worst series. So many interesting directions this game could have taken after CS III only to be robbed of them for the sake of not offending fans of every character I guess? However, does fucking GEORGE have any fans? Guess I played myself.

Rant over.

 

[Abdiel]

I loved it. I get some people thought it was divisive, but I mean, I loved it every step of the way.

I got the plat for all four games.

Dunno what to say. I'm going to miss the cold steel cast a lot as we move on to Calvard.

 

[Theswweet]

I hope Kuro is better

 

[Deleted member 3208]

I'm still debating if I should finish III. The story is a chore and Musse is fucking pissing me off; in fact, my enjoyment started disappearing when she joined the group. Ashe is fine. It is a shame because, like you mentioned OP, the music and gameplay are good. And I liked Juna, Kurt and Altina.

 

[Pandora012]

Sooo good decision that I stopped before finishing 2?

 

[Aniki]

I'm really wondering how i will be rating the whole experience when i'm done with everything. I just have one more dungeon before i'm done with Ao no Kiseki and i can start Cold Steel. So far i would say enemies getting redeemed seems to be pretty standard in all the Kiseki games i have played.

 

[Morrigan]

lol, glad I didn't bother with 4. 3 tested my patience enough as it is with the anime tropes bullshit. And these games are just way too long and bloated.

Spoiler: CS3 ending

I knew every "death" at the end of CS3 was fake, your post all but confirms it. So obvious.

This series is so cowardly.

Sooo good decision that I stopped before finishing 2?

Click to shrink...

Probably.

 

[Chie Satonaka]

I loved it. I get some people thought it was divisive, but I mean, I loved it every step of the way.

I got the plat for all four games.

Dunno what to say. I'm going to miss the cold steel cast a lot as we move on to Calvard.

Click to shrink...

Me too. I thought the games were great.

 

[Deleted member 9241]

The gameplay/music/structure was expected as of Falcom like always so I enjoyed that as a game, but writing? This shitty game undid every single set up from CS III, every single one. Every "villain" is redeemed, every death was "lol trolled", everyone gets cookie cutter good ending, the main villain turns out to be literally the most generic THE EVIL ™ curse that's get banished by power of friendship

Click to shrink...

it sounds like the last star wars trilogy

 

[Palette Swap]

I don't know, I could give two shits about the endpoint if the journey is good and I enjoyed a ton of moments in CS4. If anything, i only need Crossbell's liberation to have closure for every standing arc in Western Zemuria.

Plus, it ends on a pretty cool "whoa" cliffhanger, hidden behind a dumb wall of reloading your true ending save again.

every death was "lol trolled"

Click to shrink...

Except for the people who actually die.

 

[Deleted member 3208]

lol, glad I didn't bother with 4. 3 tested my patience enough as it is with the anime tropes bullshit. And these games are just way too long and bloated.

Spoiler: CS3 ending

I knew every "death" at the end of CS3 was fake, your post all but confirms it. So obvious.

This series is so cowardly.


Probably.

Click to shrink...

Don't forget: we just defeated the boss. Lol no, the boss was actually holding back. Oh wait, we are being rescued by a more powerful ally and they will deal with the boss we actually defeated, but they were just holding back so I just wasted my time. II was filled with this terrible trope.

 

[GerruFin]

I liked sky trilogy so much, but with cold steel i like series less and less with each game (still can't complete the third one). For a war theme based games they are so infantile .

 

[Seda]

The writing throughout CS1-3 was bad enough. Can't wait to experience how low it can go in 4.

 

[Shining Star]

CS4 was awesome, not quite as good as CS3 but a good ending.

The deaths thing is the most bizarre complaint to me. It's a good thing that none of those characters died!

 

[Abdiel]

Me too. I thought the games were great.

Click to shrink...

New Class VII were great additions... The idea that everyone gets a cop out at the end boils things down to a contrived level, ignoring all the set up that's been laid out for all the games.

I was impressed by how many things they managed to bring to a close at once. Not everything we perfect, but so much clicked, that I loved it.

And damn if the end credits didn't make me cry a bit.

 

[Tolby]

Having doubts about the series going forward as well. The Cold Steel arc had a lot of promise but fell flat.
And having to stomach these characters once more for Hajimari before the next country starts? Ugh..

 

[julia crawford]

Wow, kinda glad i stopped at Trails In The Sky.

 

[wtd2009]

So glad I bailed on the first game. This was clearly not for me. Too repetitive and tropey, was worried I'd miss out on a good story, but I guess this gives me reassurance. I'll still be looking at the next iteration just in case it clicks next time around for me.

 

[Gunny T Highway]

I still enjoyed CSIV even if it used all the tropes. I have played worse games plot wise. The ending was satisfying enough.

 

[Arsene no Kiseki]

Sooo good decision that I stopped before finishing 2?

Click to shrink...

1 & 2 are a pretty good self contained duology.

 

[Dogui]

Still didn't finish Cold Steel 3/4 for $$$ reasons (Also not reading OP because spoilers :p), but even if it's the worst thing ever like some people think, the previous arcs were still worth it.

I heard so many people saying how great Cold Steel 4 was tho, it seems like one of those divisive games that are actually divisive, instead of well regarded games with detractors like a BOTW lol

 

[Human Resources]

i'm mostly through 3 right now. i just follow a walkthrough and am continuing so that I can make my broken orbment builds even more broken. the people who talk about loving this cast...i just don't get it. i want to take Laura by the hand and take her to liberl while the rest of these rejects die in a fire

all the characters are like, "this is the guy that likes trains. nothing else matters to him. even in the heat of battle all he can think about is trains and how much he's into them." "this character likes radio stations..."

also, sexual harassment at work/school/IN A FUCKING MILITARY ACADEMY is totally legal and permitted. if i was rean i'd be giving these kids lashes in the courtyard every time they looked at me sideways

 

[Dlanor A. Knox]

I enjoyed the Erebonia arc more than the Liberl arc overall, to each their own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I especially loved CS3 and CS4 (apart from the stupid harem thing)

Crossbell arc is still the goat though.

Can't wait for Hajimari and Kuro.

every death was "lol trolled"

Click to shrink...

Well, except...

Spoiler

Arianrhod

And what a bummer, I loved the character a lot. :( But it was well done imo.

 

[Palette Swap]

Well, except...

Spoiler

Arianrhod

And what a bummer, I loved the character a lot. :( But it was well done imo.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that's one of my favorite character arcs in the game, along a specific related character and new class VII characters actually.

 

[MrWindUpBird]

Sooo good decision that I stopped before finishing 2?

Click to shrink...

Nah.

 

[BriGuy]

I haven't finished 3 yet. Even with turbo on and a trainer ensuring I kill every enemy and boss in a single hit, I can't muster the willpower to see things through. Every time I try to go back to it (and there have been plenty), I only get so far before I start asking myself if I have a better use for my time. I think I'm on the final chapter, but it just drags on and on and on. Every character has to make their quips and observations known at every juncture; there's nothing too mundane that it doesn't require every character to sound off how they feel about it in turn. And there's so goddamn many of them too. I don't remember who all these people are and what's driving them, and it's not helped that every last one of these assholes has at least one other nickname or title they go by. I don't think I'm ever going to bother with 4, even if it they practically give it away for free in some future Steam sale.

 

[Dinoegg_96]

Good, good. Let the salt flow through you.

But seriously, ToCSIV is probably the biggest disappointment I've ever had in gaming. I had no problem with the dumb tropes during the first three games, but it's like they cranked them up to the nth level in IV. Hell, they fucking REVIVED MILLIUM, so they took THAT trope to new levels. I also hated how everything wrong in the world boiled down to THE CURSE™

At the very least the last scene was cool.

Here's my full rant at the OT.

 

[Bansai]

Sooo good decision that I stopped before finishing 2?

Click to shrink...

Shiiiit, I'm in similar spot.

I've finished 2 though, in fact, I platinumed both 1 & 2 and was quite satisfied, but the more I read on 4 I'm really hesitant on going all in for another ~200 hours if it'll only result in a major disappointment...

 

[BadWolf]

Tits was enough for me.

Never got the people who said the story was great.

 

[Dlanor A. Knox]

Shiiiit, I'm in similar spot.

I've finished 2 though, in fact, I platinumed both 1 & 2 and was quite satisfied, but the more I read on 4 I'm really hesitant on going all in for another ~200 hours if it'll only result in a major disappointment...

Click to shrink...

I mean... just make your own opinion.

Also if you played through the series, might aswell see it to the end, no?

I personally vastly prefered CS3 and CS4 over CS1 and CS2.

CS3 is generally considered the best of the arc though, CS4 is more divisive, but I personally loved it.

 

[Dust]

Sooo good decision that I stopped before finishing 2?

Click to shrink...

Depends.
Deep inside I always expected clichepocalypse of generic anime tropes but I really like gameplay of Cold Steel, it's fast and the battles can get really hard on higher difficulty which I like.
It really depends what you want out of these games but be seriously warned that any "OH SHIT" moment will be 99% a fake out or reversed. CS III is probably the best one if I have to pick one.

 

[NLCPRESIDENT]

Started the first game and left it. Rather much play Ys series, but some day I'll experience the mediocrity.

 

[Toddv360]

I got like 4 or 5 hours through IV and I stopped at a friendship speech and a boss battle where the bad guys fight you for the lolz then run away. I just couldn't take it anymore. I was also very bored with the battle system after three games of it.

Ended up listening to a spoiler podcast and watching the end on YouTube as well as a few other scenes I was interested in. I've beat sky fc, sc and cold steel 1-3.

 

[Tohsaka]

Haha, that's our Falcom...

 

[Hogendaz85]

Man every time I hear about this series it sounds like a slog

 

[Cassius Bright]

Me too. I thought the games were great.

Click to shrink...

Yep, same here.

CSIV was great, as was the Cold Steel arc in general.

 

[pbayne]

I think i like rean a bit more than the average person but thank god hes done with. He might as well be literal trails jesus at this point.

Everything kind of needs a refresh for the next game, new gameplay, smaller cast, better locations, better dungeons etc. I dont know how theyll handle the scale of the next game though. Itll feel weird to try and dial things back after how crazy stupid 4 gets(which they should really do)..

 

[Dust]

I also really couldn't just stop laughing at how much they hammer up the harem aspect in CSIV, there are like suddenly 10 girls who openly express their eternal love for you with our wonderful hero going "Haha...Yeah, you too!"

At the very least Rean's initial reaction to Elise's confession was "This is a joke, right?".

 

[ARobotCalledV]

Cold Steel 4 has a pretty good first quarter
and there's one moment that delivered on the promise of the previous games later, but everything else is a mess at best and gross at worst. The story of Lechter is the most offending part to me, as at a point I started to only care about the storylines from Sky/Zero, only for them to ruin those as well.

lol, glad I didn't bother with 4. 3 tested my patience enough as it is with the anime tropes bullshit. And these games are just way too long and bloated.

Spoiler: CS3 ending

I knew every "death" at the end of CS3 was fake, your post all but confirms it. So obvious.

This series is so cowardly.


Probably.

Click to shrink...

I felt the writing fell off a cliff in Cold Steel 3, but it takes a dive to the bottom of the ocean with 4. Think the tropes are bad in 3? I found myself wishing it could go back to only being that bad.

 

[beelulzebub]

After really loving Trails in the Sky, I gave CS1 a shot and didn't make it far before the anime tropes really began to rub me in the wrong way. Glad I stopped when I did.

What the hell happened?

 

[SxP]

I was so angry after 3, I just couldn't believe the main story was this bad. To be honest, I don't know why I was surprised, it was getting worse with every Cold Steel entry.

And then when I decided to skip 4, as I just couldn't force myself to slog through it, I read a synopsis. And yes, obviously, you won't get the full experience by just reading a plot summary. But... am I ever glad I skipped that full experience. I would have probably snapped my disk in half.

 

[obsoke]

Unfortunately, I agree. Hajimari is a little better but the writing still isn't great.

I hope Kuro turns things around but I'm not hopeful. I was so much more positive on the series when I had only played up to CS2. Everything up to that point is great IMO.

 

[Arsene no Kiseki]

I think i like rean a bit more than the average person but thank god hes done with. He might as well be literal trails jesus at this point.

Everything kind of needs a refresh for the next game, new gameplay, smaller cast, better locations, better dungeons etc. I dont know how theyll handle the scale of the next game though. Itll feel weird to try and dial things back after how crazy stupid 4 gets(which they should really do)..

Click to shrink...

The next game Kuro no Kiseki (not Hajimari no Kiskei which is already out in Japan) is running on a brand new engine so I wouldn't be surprised if Kuro was a smaller scale title due to them still learning the engine.

They already said Kuro was switching to real time combat I believe so it definitely looks like its gonna be a full refresh for the franchise.

 

[dark494]

Nah this isn't it. Absolutely loved every second of the series from start to finish. This is really more a test of whether you're capable of allowing yourself to immerse into a world or not. Clearly you can only view it as an external observer through a lens of tropes and cynicism. Biggest issue is players keep making the cardinal sin of projecting themselves into every situation and character and anything that goes against what you'd choose to do makes no sense to you rather than giving the characters their identities and stepping into their shoes. Patience is a (sorely lacking) virtue these days. So whatever, you do you, but nah, gonna greatly miss this cast and all the banger moments.

Except for the people who actually die.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah this too, all the disingenuous "complaints" too lol

 

[Yu Narukami]

Shiiiit, I'm in similar spot.

I've finished 2 though, in fact, I platinumed both 1 & 2 and was quite satisfied, but the more I read on 4 I'm really hesitant on going all in for another ~200 hours if it'll only result in a major disappointment...

Click to shrink...

I beat 4 in "only" 60 hours. Was mainly playing to know how it ends.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

Nah this isn't it. Absolutely loved every second of the series from start to finish. This is really more a test of whether you're capable of allowing yourself to immerse into a world or not. Clearly you can only view it as an external observer through a lens of tropes and cynicism. Biggest issue is players keep making the cardinal sin of projecting themselves into every situation and character and anything that goes against what you'd choose to do makes no sense to you rather than giving the characters their identities and stepping into their shoes. Patience is a (sorely lacking) virtue these days. So whatever, you do you, but nah, gonna greatly miss this cast and all the banger moments.

Oh yeah this too, all the disingenuous "complaints" too lol

Click to shrink...

lol

 

[Dinoegg_96]

I got like 4 or 5 hours through IV and I stopped at a friendship speech and a boss battle where the bad guys fight you for the lolz then run away. I just couldn't take it anymore. I was also very bored with the battle system after three games of it.

Click to shrink...

IV is a bit better in that aspect (as in, you actually beat some of the enemies), but then again, it has a lot of scrubs that shouldn't have place in a game where you are fighting living legends.

 

[Christmastree55]

Nah this isn't it. Absolutely loved every second of the series from start to finish. This is really more a test of whether you're capable of allowing yourself to immerse into a world or not. Clearly you can only view it as an external observer through a lens of tropes and cynicism. Biggest issue is players keep making the cardinal sin of projecting themselves into every situation and character and anything that goes against what you'd choose to do makes no sense to you rather than giving the characters their identities and stepping into their shoes. Patience is a (sorely lacking) virtue these days. So whatever, you do you, but nah, gonna greatly miss this cast and all the banger moments.

Oh yeah this too, all the disingenuous "complaints" too lol

Click to shrink...

This reads like a copypasta

 

[FormatCompatible]

This reads like a copypasta

Click to shrink...

LOL I actually googled to see it if it wasn't one. It's some good copypasta material since it really can be used for any game.

 

[ImNotAFroot]

Trails in The Sky was amazing, couldn't even finish Cold Steel 1, the anime tropes and weird creepy shit were just too much.