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The second and last recreation within the ‘Crossbell’ saga, Trails to Azure executes on all the things that Trails from Zero meticulously constructed up. It instantly goes with out saying that you just should play Zero earlier than leaping into this direct sequel — however do not let the daunting prospect of enjoying two 60-hour RPGs put you off. When seen as two elements of 1 large story, Zero and Azure make for a brilliantly engrossing expertise.
We might go as far to assert that this can be a close to excellent sequel. Whereas Azure does reuse rather a lot of Zero’s property — there are solely a handful of recent environments to discover, for instance — the storytelling hits some unimaginable highs right here, taking plot factors and character-driven developments from the primary recreation and operating with them. The narrative payoff is genuinely excellent at instances.
As soon as once more, you fill the well-worn footwear of the Particular Assist Part (SSS for brief) — a ragtag staff of not-quite-rookie cops. Following on from the occasions of Zero, the SSS discover themselves in excessive demand, however their newfound fame hasn’t modified the way in which that they function. Protagonist Lloyd Bannings and his buddies are nonetheless totally dedicated to safeguarding their beloved Crossbell — a technologically superior city-state that is sandwiched between two supremely highly effective nations.
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Political tensions are at an all-time excessive all through Azure, and the sport does a tremendous job of setting the scene. It offers you glimpses of the broader world from Crossbell’s distinctive perspective, and with an all-important commerce convention scheduled to quickly happen on Crossbell soil, you simply know that town’s relative peace is not going to final.
Regardless of the looming threats, the SSS are nonetheless readily available to resolve native points. From slaying pesky monsters to investigating lacking folks, the sport retains the everyday Trails construction. Every chapter begins with an introduction to approaching story beats, earlier than letting you crack on with elective missions. A few of these aspect quests do lean into considerably tedious territory, however all the things that you simply determine to have interaction with helps additional set up the title’s already spectacular world constructing. You may get to know an enormous forged of secondary characters by your elective excursions, and that feeds proper again into the entire political and societal themes of the primary plot.
However as alluded, it is the segments of core story that push Azure above and past. Significantly within the recreation’s latter half, the plot’s impactful pacing is excellent. From particular person moments of character growth to seismic occasions that assist form Trails lore, it is a number of the property’s best possible storytelling — and that is excessive reward.
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Even higher is that Zero and Azure add a lot context to the Trails of Chilly Metal collection. Whereas it is completely attainable to play and revel in that four-part saga with out having touched the Crossbell duology — as many Western followers already know — truly seeing how issues unfold for Lloyd and the gang enriches the finer particulars of Chilly Metal’s equally dramatic occasions. Generally we expect developer Falcom have to be mad for creating such an intertwined narrative that stretches throughout so many alternative video games, however the emotional affect of the bigger story arcs merely cannot be denied.
When it comes to gameplay, Azure would not do a complete lot to distinguish itself from Zero. The turn-based fight system stays largely unchanged by way of mechanics, nevertheless it does really feel higher balanced general. As an example, late-game enemies aren’t fairly as spongy, and boss battles are typically higher designed with some surprisingly distinctive mechanics including a welcome layer of technique.
That mentioned, the system as a complete does nonetheless really feel like a step again from what the Chilly Metal video games have to supply. Fully comprehensible, provided that the unique Crossbell titles predate the adventures of Rean Schwarzer by a couple of years, however for followers right here within the West, who is likely to be far more acquainted with the ‘fashionable’ Trails video games, fight can appear a bit primary.
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However there’s nonetheless a rewarding sense of tactical tinkering in Azure. An expanded choice of quartz — stat-boosting and ability-granting objects — means that you would be able to customise your celebration in a great deal of other ways. Discovering efficient quartz combos is at all times nice enjoyable, and coming dangerously near breaking the steadiness of fight — a Trails staple at this level — is one thing that’ll preserve you invested.
Throw stuff like tremendous robust elective bosses and lengthy, demanding dungeons into the combination, and there is far more room for strategic expression right here than there ever was in Zero. That is type of like Crossbell’s fight system unchained, and we’re actually not complaining.
We must always most likely complain about Azure’s visuals, nonetheless. For individuals who could not know, each Crossbell titles originated on the PSP over a decade in the past, and boy does it present. Regardless of being a ‘remaster’, a number of the graphical high quality on show right here is woeful — and it is an actual disgrace that, like Zero’s PS4 re-release, Azure would not boast the visible upgrades that the newly ported Nintendo Change and PC variations do. Nonetheless, graphics should not make or break a compelling RPG, and we would be mendacity if we mentioned that inferior visuals on PS4 did a lot to detract from our general enjoyment.
Conclusion
Trails to Azure is a tremendous sequel. Alongside an expanded fight system, it takes each storyline that Trails from Zero cultivated and delivers a collection of unimaginable conclusions, each for particular person characters and the franchise’s overarching narratives. When it comes to impactful plot factors, Azure is up there with the best of Trails titles — a twisting, turning, gripping RPG that ought to actually be thought of a basic.
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