My Favorite Trails Games, Ranked From Worst To Best

I already ranked my favorite Ys games, so I have to do a ranking of my favorite Trails games too!

[chimeradivine]

"The idea of forcing someone to play through an 80+ hour-long RPG twice in order to experience critical lore is such a stupid decision."

FE Three Houses fans: *quivering in their boots*

[salsamonkey]

I find it so fascinating that everyone's ranking I've seen of these games is so wildly different. Even my own ranking changes every time I think about the series as a whole. I have Cold Steel III way higher than most probably do at time of writing despite the other Cold Steel games all being in the bottom half, but that could change the next time I replay them. What a magical series.

[xandroid]

I would personally say 3rd is my favorite, and I think the dungeon crawling is what enables it to have such good and focused character writing. Being able to go for a 2-hour long diversion playing as a young sherazard works because you don't really have any immediate narrative pressure to move forward (Until the amazing ending chapters). Otherwise, these long diversions would be painful to sit through as you want to move the story forward. It's like you're moving through an anthology of short stories, and each one powers you up for the next combat challenge. Besides, going through Liberl for a 3rd time in a row would be pretty repetitive and tiring.

[sorakat]

Watching your breakdown is really making me look forward to the adventure I recently embarked on. I'm a somewhat recent convert to the wonderful world of Trails having finally played Sky FC not long ago and in Chapter 3 of SC right now. This series has been on my radar for a while as I did pick up Cold Steel 1-4 physically some time ago based on their reputation alone. Glad I did as just playing Sky FC made me fall in love to the point where I pre-ordered the collector's editions of Crossbell and Reverie. I'm now happily enjoying my adventure in Zemuria and am looking forward to seeing where this journey will take me.

[teckleedeyi]

while i disagree with your ranking, i appreciate the explaination you gave and celebrate the achievements the western fans has come thus far

[genefactor]

It's funny, a lot of the issues people have with Cold Steel 1 are what makes it work in my opinion. I get why it's a slow burn at the beginning, not only is it the start of a new arc but there are so many characters Rean is introduced to. To go along with the issue of there being so many characters, the game switches your group as you head out on field missions as it's another way to get to know them. Also let's not forget each of these characters are from different regions within the Empire thus you get to see things from their perspective, which is quite cool I think. As for the Persona-like bits, I think this works seeing as your 'home base' is a school. I think the bonding events along with some of the simple fetch quests were nice. For me, these things caused me to form an attachment to Thors in a way and made CS2's beginning and conclusion even more impactful. I've cleared only a few Trails games so far (CS1, CS2, Zero, and Sky1). I'm currently playing Sky SC and I'm just head over heels in love with this series. If I had to pick a favorite of those I've completed so far, I'd say Trails from Zero is probably my favorite.

[nickmaestro]

The thing about the Trails series is that it’s “worst” is still a B-tier great game. The writing, lore, music, ever evolving gameplay mechanic, and overarching story is simply unmatched. I got into Trails through CS1 and 2, then played the Liberl Arc and Crossbell arcs. I was hooked instantly. I actually loved going back to FC1 after CS2.

[marethyux]

Nice explanations. I personally have Reverie as my favorite. To be honest though, I found it the opposite, the story was short. I've seen other people share my opinion on that. The reverie corridor postgame extends the content but the actual story comparatively ends fast. CS IV is definitely up there too entirely because of the infinity war/endgame like moments.

[FuryofSingingFlames]

My first experience with your channel, but I’m super impressed by editing, voice quality, and video enjoyment, enjoy a new sub, well done.

[albundy]

Mostly used Takahiro Unisuga's music for you video... You sir are a gentleman and a scholar.

[erikburke]

Great video! I just finished Trails a month ago and I really liked your explanations and takes on the series! Huge agree that it is a journey worth embarking on!

[Chaiberry]

nice ranking! personally my favorite is Reverie, it just had everything I wanted from a trails game, getting to play all my favorite characters across the series and seeing them interact with eachother 🥰 finalizing the character development of Rean and giving us an amazingly fun party in C route
plus the best combat of the series yet!

[koro]

The only issue I have with these games is it feels like I "need" a guide to get through them. There's already a lot of reading in game itself, but there is so much you can permanently miss if you don't go back and forth between the game and a guide.

[ssbsk]

I think the larger cast in cs1 makes sense imo. Each of them represents a unique and important part of Erebonian society and its struggles. I understand that from a story telling perspective, having so many important characters introduced all at once can be difficult to execute, but I feel that the relationships that grow between the characters feel organic and make sense in the context of the setting.

[werty]

I agree so much with Cold Steel IV being my favorite as well (My top three is also Sky SC, Azure, and CSIV). I know people have issues, but my god I've never felt more personally rewarded or emotionally invested in a game like this before. Playing the games starting with Sky FC all the through, including Kuro 1 and 2, it's still my favorite and I don't think anything will be able to top it until a potential series finale arc.

[kakaoke]

I started my Trails journey in may last year. I instantly fell in love with Estelle and Joshua and enjoyed every game since. I am currently playing Cold Steel 3 and loving every second! Great series

[uchytjes]

CS1 has one notable thing i think few people give it credit for: the transition from isometric sprite based art to full 3D. There were very few growing pains.

[bronsonbronson]

I just started playing Trails in the Sky FC; so happy to stumble across this video!

[joeyisabsb]

I love watching these rankings as this is the only series where I feel everyone's list is different. I actually place CS4 dead last so I love when ppl have it as their first since it really shows how great these games are! My first is Sky SC.

[platzohar]

i think it's interesting how much the opinions can vary with this series. even in my least favorites in the series (cold steel 1 and 4) there is still plenty i enjoy within them so someone else liking them more is still understandable. and never did i ever regret playing through the series, even in its low points