The Second Curtain Rises [Trails in the Sky SC: Kai HD EDITION] (PS3)

The story begins right after FC...

After an ending like that, of course you'd be dying to know what happens next!!!

This title, "Trails in the Sky SC: Kai HD EDITION", picks up the story immediately following the ending of the previous game, "Trails in the Sky FC." As the protagonist Estelle and her companions, you must search for Joshua, who has disappeared, while continuing to perform your duties as a Bracer just like before, and resolving the strange incidents occurring in each region. By the way, this review will be written with full spoilers.

Once again, I played the PS3 version, which is an HD remaster of the PSP version released in 2007. The screen is still a bit small, but personally, I stopped noticing it. Also, "SC" stands for "Second Chapter".

The basic game design hasn't changed much, with only minor additions like "Chain Crafts" and "Fishing." However, since you'll be fighting a powerful enemy known as "Ouroboros" this time, there is more tension than in the previous game, and the unpredictable developments will keep your heart racing.

Throw the snacks! Even freer combat!

A highlight of this title is the combat, which has even more freedom.

With the increased levels of Orbments, you can use more powerful Arts, allowing for more strategic Arts and satisfying damage output than in the previous game. Also, unlike the previous game where you couldn't change your main party members until the end, you can now recruit almost everyone by the middle of the game and swap them freely. Thanks to this, you can change your formation according to the situation, broadening the range of your strategies.

As for my personal boss strategy, the theory was to make full use of action-value-based Arts like "Clock Down" and "Clock Up EX" to increase our number of turns in battle. Stat-boosting Arts are the key to victory.

Furthermore, the new attack-based cooking items from SC, such as "Surprise Cookie" and "Sleepy Cookie," deal more damage than S-Break techniques, so they were quite reliable in the late game. No, they were so strong they were practically breaking the game balance...!

Powerful entities and stories that dispel déjà vu

In the beginning, just like the previous game, you revisit the towns you've already been to in the Liberl Kingdom to carry out Bracer duties, so there is a strong sense of déjà vu and not much freshness.
However, the Enforcers of Ouroboros, who are formidable foes, blew that feeling away.
While the designs might feel a bit dated, the villains are genuinely powerful and terrifying. Because of that, the moments of crisis feel like real crises, and there are many developments that make you think "Oh man... what do I do now... this is bad...", which kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story is a classic tale centered on the growth of the characters, but thanks to the careful buildup of foreshadowing, every development feels earned, and there is a real catharsis in seeing those plot threads resolved.
Furthermore, the pasts of characters that weren't revealed in the previous game are brought to light, and there were scenes that I couldn't watch without shedding tears; it was truly wonderful.

Also, because each town in every region is depicted with such care, the resolution of the NPC characters living there is higher. You can feel the breath of the people in every town, and the world-building, which makes you want to protect the people as a Bracer, was absolutely fantastic. As expected of Falcom.

The second half is exciting! ...But

The second half of the story is very exciting, but the "Four Towers" dungeons were a bit frustrating in their design.
Since they all have similar structures, the feeling of padding is undeniable. Moreover, even after defeating the Enforcer bosses, the sense of achievement was thin, and since you have to repeat that four times, I couldn't help but think, "I guess I'll have to suffer four times as much in these four towers...!"

Furthermore, in the final dungeon, the boss rush against the Enforcers was a bit disappointing because each battle was high-stakes, but since you had already fought them in the previous chapter, the freshness was lacking.
That said, if you bring the characters with whom they have a personal connection, the resolution is depicted, making the sense of achievement worthwhile.

Summary

With that said, I cleared this game in about 67 hours.
While there were some minor issues with the dungeon design, the scenario was even more exciting and moving than the previous game. Combined with an overwhelming volume that surpassed the first game and even deeper gameplay, it was a highly satisfying RPG.
Once things settle down a bit, I'd like to play Trails in the Sky the 3rd.

DATA

Trails in the Sky SC: Kai HD EDITION
Publisher / Developer: Nihon Falcom
Supported Hardware: PS3
(Playable on PS4 and PS5 via PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog)
Release Date: April 25, 2013
(Original PC version release date: March 9, 2006)
Genre: RPG

Product Page

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Trails in the Sky FC: Kai HD EDITION (PS3)
The first act, which serves as the prologue to the previous game.

Ys Origin (PC)
A Ys title released in the same year as the PC version of Trails in the Sky SC. It is a side story that does not feature Adol as the protagonist. However, the fun remains the same as always!

Character Impressions

I will also write down my impressions of the main characters who appeared this time.
As expected of a sequel, the number of playable characters has increased significantly.

Estelle Bright

The definitive protagonist.
By overcoming adversity and fulfilling her duties as a Bracer, she grew even more than Joshua before she knew it. Her ability to shine light even on a despondent Joshua made her a sun-like presence truly worthy of the name Bright.
However, it's charming that she falls slightly behind other characters in combat.

Joshua Bright

Prodigal SonHeroine. While he was always calm and acted as a brake for Estelle in the previous game, it is revealed that he harbored an incredibly fragile heart.
His disappearance this time was the result of that weakness reaching its breaking point. However, he likely didn't know that Estelle had grown this strong while he was away. He was saved not only by his father Cassius but also by his daughter, Estelle.

It is a pity, however, that there was no cross-dressing scene this time.

Agate Crosner

In the early stages, you travel with either Agate or Schera-nee, but this time I chose Agate-nii. He was a great older brother figure who was sometimes strict but firmly supported Estelle as a senior Bracer.

It was great to see his past, which wasn't depicted in FC, revealed and to witness his own personal growth.

Scherazard Harvey

Scherazard-nee.
Her own past was depicted thoroughly, and the connection with Luciola, who had become an Enforcer, was explored, which was quite good.

Olivier Lenheim

He was his usual suspicious Koyasu-voiced self, and while his true identity is finally revealed this time... seriously, what are you!?
Since he seems to have a goal of sorts, I look forward to his future contributions. In the end, he is still full of mysteries.

Kloe Rinz

The troubled next queen of Liberl was one of the strongest characters in this game.
The consistent power of her life-saving craft 'Lichtkreis' goes without saying, and her orbment setup was so well-suited for arts that by the end, she had become the strongest arts user in both offense and defense, mastering various arts. Strong. Too strong.

Tita Russell

She played a huge role in the previous game, but in the final dungeon's Enforcer battles this time, she couldn't stand a chance...
Even so, seeing her try her absolute best for Agate was truly wonderful. It was really wonderful...

Zin Vathek

A gentleman whose presence deepened as his connection with his fellow disciple, the Enforcer Walter, was depicted.

In battle, his self-buffing craft 'True Dragon God Strength' was far too powerful; with durability that wouldn't yield to any attack and attack power that could pummel opponents even without arts, he was a reliable presence until the end, just like Kloe. He was much stronger than Estelle or Joshua.

I never imagined that Zin, who left the weakest first impression in the previous game FC, would be someone who radiated such an overwhelming presence right up to the final boss battle...

Anelace Elfead

The senior bracer in charge of being cute.
I was happy that she trained with Estelle in the beginning, but she left the party as soon as that was over. I wanted you to stay longer!
After that, she and the other senior bracers had a pretty rough time being manipulated.

Josette Capua

The sky bandit girl who uses 'boku', and Estelle's romantic rival.
She only had thankless roles in the previous game FC, but this time she had plenty of highlights, such as acting alongside Joshua and helping with the escape from the Glorious. On top of that, she was even generous enough to join the party in the final stages.

Julia Schwarz

I was surprised when she suddenly joined the party in the final dungeon.
She joins at a level that truly reflects her status as a capable individual, making her reliable. However, while she is deeply involved in the drama, she isn't someone who has traveled with the group, so I found myself agonizing over whether I should really be using her this late in the game.

Mueller Vander

Like Captain Julia, I was surprised when he suddenly joined the party. He turned out to be an incredibly capable individual, not just Olivier's straight man, but like the Captain, it felt a bit awkward to just add him to the party without reading the room.

Kevin Graham

He appeared suddenly while I was in the middle of learning about the mysterious Ouroboros and feeling paranoid about who the enemy was, so combined with his Kansai dialect, he seemed incredibly suspicious. He was way too nice to Estelle—he was just too shady!!!

Well, his true identity is even more mysterious than the Society, and he seems like a character who will hold the key to future developments. I'm looking forward to seeing him in action in the next installment.

Ren

Ren, the Enforcer of Annihilation.
While beautiful young girls in lolita outfits aren't rare as of 2026, I feel like she was at the cutting edge of 'moe' back in 2006.

She is a girl who shares the same circumstances as Joshua, and perhaps she, too, will be saved by the Bright family. I'm looking forward to seeing how things unfold.
By the way, I gave up on the hide-and-seek.
Also, her humanoid mech, Pater-Mater, had some cool shoulders that looked like the Gundam GP02.

Professor Weissmann

He seemed so incredibly strong, but in the end, he just came across as a small-time villain. Why do bad guys always play the pipe organ...?
He wasn't respected at all by the other Enforcers, and I feel like that lack of charisma was the cause of his defeat.

Come to think of it, the incident where the orbal devices stopped due to the 'Aureole' felt a bit like 'Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still'.

Cassius Bright

Once again, this cheat of a father swoops in to take all the glory. He had plenty of screen time as a Liberl military officer this time, and he was a frustratingly cool presence right until the very end.

Favorite Scenes

Finally, I'd like to talk about some of the scenes that left an impression on me.

With that said, the next Falcom slot will be Tokyo Xanadu. I'm going to play it, I'm going to play it.