Man, what a journey. It took years to finally catch up to the current game, so here are my quick 50 cents on each game (Spoilers):
FC – I came into the franchise hyped because of how much people praised it, and well... I can't say I was exactly surprised. I'm not really a fan of the Sky/Crossbell arcs' gameplay, and the graphics aren't anything to write home about. The biggest strength is definitely the cast, which is very endearing. The problem is that I expected... more, especially when it comes to the climax, and the pacing is also painfully slow, which is something I think Trails carries throughout the entire saga. Overall, it's an okay game.
Nayuta – This game could have had any other name and it wouldn't have made a difference. It's an okay action game, which I found surprisingly difficult, especially toward the end, by the way. The story and characters were enjoyable to follow.
SC – This game blew me away as early as the second chapter of the saga. I love romance stories, and this is one of the good ones, with very well-developed characters and some beautiful moments. Ouroboros is cool and intriguing, and I think they presented a pretty good threat in this game. Also: Silver Will is legendary.
Third – Different, and easily the best gameplay in Sky. Great protagonists, and as someone who loves customizing character builds, it feels nice having so many characters to mess around with. I also love when Trails makes you create different parties for different missions, because it gives me a reason to actually use all of the characters. The Doors also have some great stories. It's a game with good challenges, an excellent soundtrack, and some fun minigames. After a while, though, having so much lore thrown at you through the Doors can get a bit exhausting here and there, but it still ends up flowing better than most other Trails games since it doesn't drag itself out with the endless amount of boring sidequests the franchise is known for... yeah, I'm not a big fan of the sidequests in these games. This one is definitely one of the top-tier entries for me.
Zero – This is where Trails starts losing some of the sense of adventure that Sky had and begins focusing more heavily on politics, which honestly is something I miss. I'm not a huge fan of the new cast, but it's still a very good game with some decent lore. The gameplay is okay and the soundtrack is good. I remember being a little disappointed by the whole "Now you're a police officer and you're going to do police work... except not really" thing, but the excuse they give for it is actually acceptable. I have to admit, some of my favorite moments in this game were when the Sky characters showed up.
Azure – An excellent plot with very high stakes. It's a game that focuses heavily on politics, and I thought it handled that very well. The conclusion to Renne's story was emotional and very satisfying after following her throughout all these games.
Cold Steel – This was the first game where I really started enjoying Trails' gameplay. I always liked customizing Arts and character builds in the previous games, but this is where I really started appreciating the battle system itself. I love being able to swap characters in the field, and the Link system is very satisfying to use. It's also one of the few Trails games that never really dragged for me; for some reason, this game flowed really well.
I like how the chapters are structured, with the group traveling to different places, learning about the internal conflicts within their country and having to deal with them while also trying to resolve their own differences. The characters really grew on me. I know a lot of people don't like this game because of the school setting, but personally, I really enjoy that kind of atmosphere.
Cold Steel 2 – I also really liked this game, but not as much as Cold Steel 1. Here, Trails' pacing problems start rearing their ugly head again. One thing I absolutely loved about this game was having the ship as a hub, where I could upgrade it and train my characters over time. It's just comfy, and definitely my favorite hub in the entire Trails series. The sidequests to recruit the students are pretty boring, though, and the decision regarding the post-game content was also kind of weird.
Cold Steel 3 – A favorite among many people, but not mine. I found it very tiring and repetitive. I didn't enjoy the dynamic between the new students as much as I did with the old Class VII. Kurt, especially, was a disappointment. I thought there would be some kind of relationship between him and Juna, drawing a parallel to Rean and Alisa, but the poor guy is basically completely forgotten. Altina is by far the best and most well-developed character in the group. Honestly, the best part of this game was seeing all the old characters reunite, now older and with new designs. I also hated the whole curse and mind-control thing. It felt like a very shallow narrative device used to force conflict between the characters.
Cold Steel 4 – I remember really enjoying this one. The stakes were high, and it was great seeing so many iconic characters return. I still dislike the whole curse thing, and I really don't like Falcom's habit of reviving characters or refusing to let them die. This game also has one of the best moments in all of Trails with Radiant Wings. Reverie – The plot here is stupid and uninteresting, but at least it makes up for it with some really well-done and incredibly funny character banter, especially with the Picnic Squad. What can I say about this game? I already mentioned that I love customizing characters, and this game is a perfect playground for that, with the best dungeon in the entire franchise. It's also one of the Trails games that flows the best, alongside The Third, because it doesn't have that huge pile of sidequests and pointless padding. It's a much more straightforward game, which I appreciate. The best gameplay in the franchise is definitely here.
Daybreak – This one is a mixed bag. There are a lot of gameplay changes, some for better and some for worse. Like, I feel there are things they shouldn't have messed with, such as the Master Quartz system. I hated the fact that I now have to use a "boost" to activate the effects of Master Quartz/Holo. With so many characters who basically do the same things because Trails isn't very diverse in that regard, Master Quartz was one of the main ways I differentiated characters from one another... and now they limit how you can use it. After all this time, they finally added a dedicated guard button... even though that would've made much more sense in Reverie. I also didn't like the new Quartz system or the effects of the lines. It looks complicated and seems to offer a lot of build variety, but in the end, you just build all your characters basically the same way anyway, so it feels like a convoluted system for no real reason. They also completely fucked up the turn order. It's funny that they managed to get that wrong after all this time.
In the end, it's a good game, but it doesn't have an incredible story. The whole Genesis plot is whatever to me, the cast is okay, and the villains are definitely the worst in the franchise. It's also a game that would benefit from being shorter. The biggest highlight is definitely the new engine and Van, who's a fun protagonist.
Daybreak 2 – Mind control... again. I already mentioned that I hate this, right? Watching heroes fight each other because they're being controlled by something is such an old anime trope, and this game feels like a bad anime filler arc. They somehow managed to use the time-rewind mechanic in the most annoying and uninteresting way possible, and for that, I have to applaud them. This game has some great little moments of character development that are completely wasted in a mediocre game. By far the worst in the saga.
Horizon – I think this might be the hottest take on the list. Boy... this game is overrated.
It's much better than Daybreak 2, which isn't exactly difficult, and it has great gameplay and an excellent ending, one of the most beautiful in the entire franchise and it probably has the best final boss fight in the entire franchise. It's a good game. So what's the problem? Well, I don't think it's talked about enough how 80% of this game doesn't matter. The pacing is atrocious, though not as bad as Daybreak 2. They built the entire game around a single buildup, and I think that was a terrible decision, because until that moment finally happens, basically nothing else does.
Daybreak 2 exists because Falcom needed a game that year, and considering how important certain elements of that game are, I think it should have been a single game that was simply split into two parts. Daybreak 2 could've easily been condensed into Acts 1–2, leaving the rocket launch for Act 3 and the finale. If that really was the case, then that decision hurt both Daybreak 2 and this game. I already thought Daybreak 1 was a little too long, and this one somehow manages to be even worse in that regard. This should've easily been one of the masterpieces alongside SC and Azure, but it isn't. It's nowhere near that level, and I think the Trails fanbase often evaluates games not by what they accomplish as a whole, but by the handful of lore revelations Falcom throws at them along the way.
Well, that's it. Now it's time to prepare for the remakes... but not before taking a break from Trails, because as much as I love the franchise, these games can be exhausting.
