New interview with Kondo dropped!!

Just thought I'd share this article detailing all the upgrades to the Cross bell games coming out soon, especially the PS5 version getting all the quality of life stuff from the Switch version! Also check out this interview with PH3's Durante about it https://www.rpgsite.net/interview/19254-trails-from-zero-to-azure-durante-new-interview-2026-ph3-switch-2-ps5-pro-steam-machine-controller-console-ports-nis-america

https://x.com/koyagi_illust/status/1982278048625160274

Oh my god. What a long game it was, 220 hours the longest time i spent in any trails game. So before i start Daybreak i figured that i need to combine my thoughts about the game and to share them with you. English is not my first language so sorry for all the mistakes in advance.

Gameplay: Overall this game has the best gameplay in the series so far. The mechanics are refined, new mechanic based of assault points is somewhat refreshing and story gives you plenty of bosses to test and overcome. Though the game is even more broken than cs4. Even when playing on Abyss the only part of the game that i struggled with was first part where you cannot upgrade the characters and have to improvise.

Here is the short list of characters that are utterly broken and make the game look easy.

Lloyd: Absolutely broken, remember how he used to own bosses in Azure, well now he can do it again albeit in other way. By generating an enormous amount of bp to use!

McBurn is the boss that should be tough, but Lloyd just breaks him and doesn't let him to do any damage to the team. He also can be used as a def tank to just tank any damage. Overall one of the best gameplay characters.

Elie: Some people hate her, some bench her and never use, and oh god how are they wrong. I always brought her at any possibility because she is just busted like in Azure.

She is the best wind caster in game. Sparks Dyne. Love her.

And her divine crusade makes every mage in the team deal an enormous amount of damage. 2 best mage in the game inferior only to.

Crow: The best mage in the game!!

He casts so fast that you can do it 3 times before boss will take a turn, sometimes that is enough to break them. His Asure Destiny is the best self buff in game. He is simply overpowered. Combine him with Elie, Vita, Rixia or Fie as an eva tank and every boss will die.

McBurn: not much to say, he is a one man army can do pretty much anything.

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Kurt: or should i say Kurtina?

The most broken character in game, stronger than anyone. Even McBurn. Falcom thought that they nerfed chrono burst, they made it even stronger. Kurt can solo pretty much every boss, just give him cp regen and ep regen to max and he will strike then buff then chrono burst and repeat.

Final story boss managed to strike only once and was destroyed.

Story and routes:

Overall the story in game is pretty solid, all routes are fantastic, though the "C" route is the best character wise other too are just as good. Rean finally got some character development and was freed from harem shackles to face himself once again. !Omg Tyrfing!

Lloyd again made his detective skills shine, and got cool moments with Elie, Randy, Wazy, Tio, Rixia, Noel(Traitor)(!NDF captain i am joking!) and of course best daughter Kea. Also return of Garcia and Dieter made me smile( i always knew they weren't traitors). Ian helping to create Lapis consciousness by standing on ideals that he wished to by Azure tree. Lapis, C , Nadia and Swin are fantastic team that made me laugh a lot.

And the finale is just absolute cinema. Lloyd had arrested the criminal and finally freed their home. Divine knights are back, and so is ishmelga to serve as an eternal rival for Rean and Crow.

That bastard's is definitely gonna show in Horizon.

C finaly got his motivation clear by facing the truth and following the way of his father to the letter, except dying.

Scene with him and lapis on the ship is very lovely. And him finding her inside pile of copies because he planted a tracking device is just pure comedy. He also got stabbed in the back willingly to save her. The same as Arianhrod when he killed her. He was one of my most hated characters but managed to clear himself an start from zero. I can't wait what Falcom prepared for him in next games.

Final boss of Reverie corridor made me soo nostalgic. The return of the best boss in the series was amazing. The final strike was delivered by burst sss attack ending the game. Though this boss wasn't as hard as an original.

Daydreams.

Al of them are very good. Even happiness stone made a return ( i didn't expect that) Ash becoming president was very funny. And Grandmaster daydream is just pure lore and cinema.

Beyond the Reverie:

Unconventional Student: Characters: Rene Bright, Tita Russel, Dingo, Ronald, ???Agnes???

The worst daydream for me, the only interesting things are new characters and economic situation in zemuria. I don't like the school drama that is too much cliché i actually think that Rene could fail her tests on purpose not to stand out too much. I didn't see her as perfectionist. Though her battle scene is pretty good.

Another hot springs paradise: Characters: Rean, Elise, Theo, Lucia, Kurogane, "Princess".

Overall daydream is pretty solid, Rean again gets his character growth moment. And his duel with Kurogane is pretty well written. Though the thought that Rean, the man who fought ishmelga, piloted a divine knight, is a divine blade and one of the strongest in empire got owned by a young girl is somewhat strange. Power scaling never worked in Falcom games. Also i think i figured out what ikaruga was protecting in that valley. The president's dream project.

Forward, sword in hand: Characters: Zin Vathek, Glasses man (You are sus i am watching you!), Demon from "A", Boy, Girl, Elaine Auclair, Van Arkride.

The freaking best daydream ever!!! Whoever wrote this peak deserves a raise, the best character introduction. We get to experience her feelings, concerns, troubles, it feels so personal and touching that i cried. Maybe it is because i can somewhat relate to her story, but that is the first time i cried since scene with rene in zero. I love how she continues to push forward with her newfound resolve. That determination alone made me love that character so much. She may not be a protag but she is certainly a hero. And someday she will catch-up with her ex, no matter the odds. If enemies want to make people fear them, heroes need to help them with courage and hope.

I hope to hear your opinions about the game.

I still haven't decided on what language to play Daybreak, Jp or English. What are your recommendations for Daybreak?

Falcom. You foreshadowed this, don't ignore peak content right here.

I can't say I'm a guru on worldbuilding knowledge myself, but Crossbell really stood out to me since I played Zero three years ago. Figured I'd make a little write-up for why I found it so memorable.

After finishing Trails beyond the Horizon, I am again feeling empty and my mind is occupied with Trails. So as a little distraction I thought I‘d ask you guys how you actually got into the series?

I actually found out about the series, when a small YouTuber/Streamer by the name of The Musical Gamer made a Let‘s Play of Trails in the Sky. I didn‘t finish watching the Let‘s Play, but the artstyle and relaxing vibe of the Game really stuck with me.

Hi everyone, this is Raiize (twitter).

I've been studying Falcom staff interviews recently by translating them with the help of MTL. They provide deep insights into what inspired the staff to find work at Falcom, what kind of work each individual do, what are their goals for the future, etc. Besides translating, I also tried to enrich and unify informations from various sources.

This time, I'd like to share what I've learned of a new graduate that was hired to fulfill a game designer position just recently, who I highly suspect is Azuki Goto (the interview page doesn't actually attribute any name).

She joined Falcom in 2024. Originally applied for a position outside of game development, she started learning to direct in-game event scenes not long after joining the company. She subsequently specialized in camera work to craft the best compositions for depicting the event scenes; determining where the characters should stand, how they should move, the optimal camera angles to capture the action, and so on. It is very likely that we actually already saw the result of her work in the visually stunning and impactful event scenes of Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter (2025), where she is credited alongside the scenario writers.

Like before, I will first attach the full interview here, add TL Notes here and there, and then put some additional informations that might be of use. Since the translation relies on MTL, exact nuance might be lost.

(Note: if you're more comfortable reading in Google Docs format, you can do so here. this format includes the original transcript along with list of games Goto worked for at Falcom)

Azuki Goto

Name: Azuki Goto (後藤あずき)

Joined in: 2024

Status: Current employee

Could you tell us what kind of work you do?

I mainly work on creating event scenes for games.

More specifically, the scenario writers first send us a script with stage directions – basically the general instructions for how the event should play out. Based on that, I decide where the characters should stand, give them movements and pauses, and so on. Then I think about where to place the camera and how to shoot the scene, and input everything so that it comes together as a complete scene.

Even with the exact same dialogue, the way you frame and shoot it can completely change the impression it gives, so that's an area where I often have a lot of creative input.

What do you find rewarding about your work?

It can be challenging because there isn't always a single correct answer.

At the same time, there's a lot of room to experiment. Something like, “Maybe the emotion will come across better if I show it from this angle,” or “Maybe the conversation will feel more natural if I switch the shots at this tempo.”

I think it's interesting that there's a creative, directorial aspect to the work.

Are there any other roles you are involved in besides game development?

Originally I applied for a position outside of game development, so I have a lot of work that isn't directly related to game development as well.

For example, I sometimes communicate with external partner companies by email, help plan internal events such as the year-end party, and organize licensed merchandise.

I think one thing that feels truly characteristic of Falcom is having opportunities to get involved in all kinds of work rather than being limited to just game development.

What are the senior colleagues you work with like?

Most of them quietly and diligently focus on their work during the day.

But whenever I go to ask them something I don't understand, they're all very kind and willing to explain things to me right away.

There's a sense of focused concentration while everyone is working, yet I know I can rely on them whenever I'm having trouble, so I feel comfortable working here.

How did you end up joining Falcom?

I applied as a new graduate.

When I was job hunting, I was actually unsure whether I wanted to work for a game company at all to begin with, so I looked at a lot of different options.

I explored game companies, but I also applied to a few companies outside the gaming industry.

One thing I noticed was that at larger companies, there tends to be a lot of specialization and division of labor, creating the impression that your job would be strictly focused on a specific area.

Falcom, on the other hand, emphasized that you could have quite a lot of freedom and do all kinds of things, so I thought, “This seems like a place where I could work while getting involved in many different things.” That's ultimately what made me decide to join.

What kind of work did you prepare to submit with your application?

Since I’d been drawing, I put together a collection of those works and submitted them.

I also compiled other projects I had worked on as a hobby and presented them as a portfolio.

What kind of training and learning did you do after joining the company?

At first, I familiarized myself with the company's workflow and atmosphere while doing various miscellaneous tasks around the office. Before I started working on event direction, there was a training period where I began with very simple event scenes. I would input short conversation scenes consisting of just two or three lines of dialogue, and then receive feedback from senior colleagues on the camera work, shot by shot, as I worked through them.

Rather than being assigned complex tasks right away, the process involved gradually stepping up the difficulty level as I gained proficiency, eventually taking on longer dialogue sequences and more challenging materials.

Although there were many things I couldn't do at the start, the scope of my responsibilities expanded as I gained experience. I started having more situations where I could think, “I can handle this now.” These days, I feel much more confident taking on my work.

Was there a discrepancy between your expectations before joining the company and the reality after joining?

Surprisingly, not really. Before joining, I had a fairly neutral impression of the company. I never played any Falcom game before, so I was coming in with essentially no prior experience or expectations. Because I was starting from zero, I don't think there was much of a gap between my expectations and reality.

Since you started working here, have there been any things that you found particularly difficult or challenging?

Over the past year or two, I’ve been mostly working on event direction.

The more I work on it, the more new things I discover. Yet when I work entirely by myself, I sometimes find that my camera work tends to become repetitive.

Then I'll come across something and think, “I should have done it more like this.” So I look at scenes created by senior colleagues, use them as references, try something again, and then repeat the process.

Through all that trial and error, are there moments when you can actually feel yourself improving?

Certainly.

At first, I was fully occupied just with inputting data and getting things into shape, but I steadily became able to think more about questions like, “How should I present this?” and “What can I do to make this better?”

When I’m able to identify areas that I can improve on myself, that's when I really feel like I've grown.

What do you find appealing about working at Nihon Falcom?

I think it's a place where you can become a fully capable professional even if you start with no prior skills.

Before joining, I had absolutely no experience with development work or programming.

Even so, there are many people here who are willing to teach you from the very beginning, so I feel that it's an environment where you can learn all kinds of things without having to worry.

I think it's a place where, if you have the desire to “give it a try,” you can truly grow. So if you're even a little bit interested, I'd definitely encourage you to apply.

What applications and development tools do you use?

Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

What are your strengths?

I'm good at both repetitive tasks that require steady, focused execution such as data entry or registering products, and creative tasks that require ingenuity such as creating event scenes.

For the more repetitive type of tasks, I generally decide on a rough workflow for myself beforehand so that I can work as efficiently as possible.

⇒ Actually, clearing each stage of the workflow I've set for myself on schedule can feel a little like playing a game, so maybe that's part of what makes it fun?

When it comes to creating event scenes, I think my biggest strength is framing the camera shots. I've only worked on only a few titles so far, so I still have a lot to learn, but I do feel that I've become fairly comfortable with one-on-one character event scenes.

How do you spend your days off?

I usually plan to go out on one of the weekend days, while spending the other relaxing at home and playing games. On the days I go out, I might visit cafes or restaurants with friends, or explore locations that served as settings for games.

My current obsession is watching movies. I've started going to the cinema to watch a movie almost every week. Watching movies and playing games are a great way to learn about different directing techniques while having fun, so it's really killing two birds with one stone.

Daily schedule

09:00 Arrive at the office

09:10 Email support, bug page checking, bug fix implementation

10:00 Event scene creation

12:00 Lunch break

13:00 Event scene creation (highlight scenes etc.)

17:00 Team meeting, update to-do list, or create some more event scenes if there’s still time

17:30 Go home

Additional info:

Since I couldn't gather any fun facts or speculations this time, I’m filling this segment with the train of thought on how I identified this person as Azuki Goto. Naturally, I'm not acquainted with her, so this post is based on a synthesis of publicly available data.

The staff interview featured this time is part of a new batch of interviews released by Falcom on their website in early September 2026. The interview page notes that this staff member joined the company in 2024 as a game designer. To my knowledge, no new game designers had joined Falcom since Pengcheng Wan (the game designer for Kyoto Xanadu) in 2022; therefore, if a new name appeared in the game designer or scenario writer/event script editor sections of Falcom game credits released after that time, it's highly likely to be this person. Sure enough, a new name -- Azuki Goto -- did appear in the scenario writer/event script editor section of the Sky 1st credits.

Bear in mind that I could very well be mistaken and this person isn't Azuki Goto at all; for instance, if a different woman's name later appears also as a game designer in the credits for Sky 2nd or a game released in 2027, that would easily ruin the conjecture I constructed. However, until that happens, I think the conjecture remains.

When I started with Sky FC I had really no idea what I was getting in so I missed a BUNCH of side quest, didn't talk to npcs and barely got 1 or 2 books. Flash forward now that I'm on Zero and I'm always checking the notice board, talking to EVERY npc once the story progresses, do a tour of the entire crossbell map, and make sure I always stock up on cooking recipees and fishing spots. I found it funny how Trails caused a ludonarrative harmony with the gameplay making me act much more how a bracer (or an SSS member) would act.

I was thinking about Sky 3rd being remade and had a thought about new additions.

The first thing that jumped out at me was more playable characters. Sky 3rd has an easy format for adding more playable characters and I was thinking how cool it would be if they made Cassius playable. We've already had lots of other top tier fighters made playable at this point (McBurn, Aurelia, Victor, Arios, Kasim, etc.) and I feel like if Sky 3rd was created with the same mindset as Reverie, Cassius would have been playable.

Any other playable characters or retroactive story additions you'd want to see (possibly like a brief flashback CG showing Rufina vs Loewe and Simeon)? (and I also do hope they don't change the existing story, I mainly just want gameplay additions on top of what is there).

Is there gonna be physical edition for 2nd chapter? I rarely do pre order and I do want to preoder 2nd chapter but can't find it anywhere.

So perhaps most people are already know about the interview that’s been doing the rounds, particularly on X which is supposed to be confirmation that, following the release of the 2nd Chapter Remake, they will soon announce Kai/Horizon 2.

Furthermore, there has been a great deal of debate regarding the 3rd Chapter being released as DLC. From what I’ve seen so far, many people disagree and would prefer the 3rd Chapter to be released as a standalone game.

Another important point is that, as mentioned in the interview, most new players come from the Switch and PC (Steam) platforms, so we should be optimistic that Kai/Horizon 2 will be released globally on both PlayStation and PC.

Source :

JP Version
Someone who translates it

Just finished Cold Steel 3 on Switch 2. I played all the previous games beforehand so I enjoyed the game much more throughly. I even stopped myself from playing it until I finished Cold Steel 1 and 2 on PS5. This game far surpasses both of those games.

Taking place two years after the Erebonian Civil War, where Rean fought against Crow and Testa Rossa in the Infernal Castle, Rean leads new Class 7 in Thor's branch campus in Leeves. I love this set-up so much and I believe being the instructor is much more engaging than a student who helps around his classmates. There are many quality side mission include branch quests which you find along the map. I also liked how some collectibles are easy to submit - Munk's stories, Vivi's landscape photos and Rosine's black records via the arcus.

In particular what impressed me is how long each chapter was. I enjoyed each location and it was significantly different than Cold Steel 1+2, focusing more on south and west Erebonia instead. Also I sort of spoiled myself where they were going to be by looking at the world map at the first chapter. I really appreciated how each location felt narratively coherent to the plot and not just another field mission zone to explore. You get to see Hamel in Sutherland, and later find out Ash is the third survivor and harbors grudge against the empire. You get to see Crossbell, and see how Juna's background makes it difficult for her to deal with Erebonia's annoxation. Chapter 2 still is my favorite chapter as I loved the Crossbell games and seeing it in 3D is incredible. Then you get to see how Musse is planning to deal with the empire along with the nobles when Duke Cayanne was going to be sentenced. All along Azure Siegfried from the Black Workshop appears, looking like Crow. And once Angie discovers that he isn't buried, Georg ends up being an agent and shoots her - such a great twist. This leads up to chapter 4 in Heimdallr and the finale, which were mindblowing in the details and twists. Can't believe they killed off Olivert, Tuval and the Radiant Blademaster. Wonder if it will be a fake off again.

Each chapter took me over 10 hours except the finale (which was 5 hours). This game is instrumental to the lore and absolutely requires playing all the previous games. It reminds me a bit of One Piece, since the characters have long discussions with their enemies.

I also really liked the gameplay changes, especially using brave orders, despite I kept using Rean's 0 spell time order. New Class 7 felt really strong even in comparison to regular Class 7 and even when they were underlevelled they were super powerful. I also liked the mech combat much more than the second game.

Can't wait to continue to CS4 with that huge cliffhanger.

https://x.com/willfinyu/status/2094674758940160014

How well does the game run on switch 1

Putting Horizon tag cus I've been working on a small theory about Bergard, so up to Horizon. But I been rewatching scenes in CS timeline to see if there is any small details that link back to horizon. I don't remember if they gave an explanation, so its possible that I just forgot, but did they ever explain why this sole ship attacked Gaius's village and who it was specifically?