A Look Ahead - Soul Saga

Now that Soul Saga has been over-funded by three times the original pledge with the Kickstarter closed, I believe it's time to really start talking about it, since this is something you'll want to look forward to.  In the interest of full disclosure, the main reason this game is on my radar is because it will be available on Vita (and PS4, Wii U, PC, Mac and Linux) a year from now when it's finished (barring delays) and it looks really, really neat.  Originally, I'd heard the intention was simply those minus the PS4 and Vita (likely because the former hadn't been formally shown off yet, nor extrapolated on, both of which we saw happen at E3 and thereafter) and none of those play options were open to me.  So, admittedly, I just sort of passed on it which is obviously a bit selfish, but it's simply because there are just so many games, you guys.  I'm sure you realize.

If you're not quite sure what Soul Saga is, because you equally haven't been paying attention prior to this point, then it's a game that bills itself as a JRPG that's been inspired by some of the classics we remember growing up like Breath of Fire, Suikoden and of course, Final Fantasy, though there are some other RPGs that it draws from which I will get into in a bit.  It starts a bit familiarly; the main character, Mithos, is a young man following in the footsteps of his loathsome (from Mithos' perspective, at least) father in becoming a Guild Leader with the ultimate goal of succeeding where his father apparently failed.  Of course, just getting to that point will take some doing as being a Guild Leader obviously isn't a walk in the park.  However, it's through this that a bulk of the rather neat gameplay mechanics come into play, which is why I wanted to point it out beforehand.

I have held off long enough, so I want to get to one of the things that made me -really- excited about the game.  The world of Soul Saga is one made up of Sky Islands that rest upon a reef of clouds, shielding them from the harsh surface world below.  Being that they are -islands- in the -sky-, there's obviously only one way to get around - by airship.  Thanks to some of the stretch goals, the developer is going to be able to implement a Skies of Arcadia-styled Airship Exploration and Airship combat system which is amazing.  I would say that that element was one of the better parts of Skies of Arcadia, but that would be lying because -all- of the parts of SoA were good parts.  The Airship Exploration/Combat is merely something that made SoA stand out from the rest of the JRPG fare at the time and with good reason - not only was it different, but it was so good.  If SS's attempt is even half as good, it's going to be worth the game alone - something that I'm not saying as hyperbole.

Really, all of the stretch goals for the Kickstarter were for love letter-type things like that to older RPGs.  After you got by the basics of funding the game itself, Voice Acting and Wii U/PS4/Vita ports, it begins.  The Airship and combat stuff, I covered as Skies of Arcadia, just now.  The Job Board is something you're all familiar with - side quests to keep you occupied in the form of villager requests and the like, all posted to a central location.  Legendary Weapons is a standard as well, though more celebrated in Final Fantasy than anything I can think of - remember getting the Ultima Weapon for Cloud in FF7, or dodging 200 lightning bolts in FFX for Lulu's best doll weapon?  Yeah, it's like that, only they have their own storylines attached, so it's probably more involved than "Beat big optional boss". 

The Guild Master and Guild Hall areas are where we start delving heavily into Suikoden territory, (Technically Skies of Arcadia as well) in that the former has you scour the land for potential guild members and entice them to join you at your HQ.  The latter then allows you to have these guild members actually -do- things, provided they're not in the party (I assume, if they can even -be- in the party) giving things a sense of life that exists beyond when you're there.  Basically, it enters a bit of management into the game, which just isn't done enough, honestly, and has only met with limited success recently (what comes in my head first is the...questionable attempts by the Assassin's Creed games - send person out, wait, they might win, get reward is hardly exciting or worth bothering with), but can be a genuinely good mechanic.  One of the other stretch goals that was met, Guild Battles, also sounds to scratch the Suikoden itch, sounding to me like the War battles that the series introduced and ran with that were quite different and quite enjoyable.  There's still a few more Stretch goals that I didn't explain, some because they weren't funded (Though Garen's Saga is going to happen even though it didn't reach that total before the funding date) or because I'm just not sure what to think of them (like the Pandora's Boxes, which sound interesting and different), and if you're interested the full list is here with fairly detailed descriptions.

Mechanically, the game just sounds outstanding - a mesh of all the best parts of the best RPGs of the past, which seems to be a popular goal of late and an admirable one to go after.  After all, these neat little parts are -why- those series were beloved, even if it didn't get them the big sales numbers that were just hard to come by back then.  The development cycle of the game is something I'll be looking after with quite a bit of interest, since I can guarantee you that fifteen of my dollars will be going this game's way the moment it becomes purchasable on my Vita.  I am thoroughly sold at this point in time, and if you're not, I seriously have to question why.  Unless...you just don't like JRPGs, which is understandable.  Even still, this is ambitious and while I hope it's ready a year from now, I'll check my expectations here.  When it's done, it's done and if that ends up being more like a year and a half or better, well, so be it.  Just make sure the game is as good as it can be, because we're looking forward to it now, DisasterCake.

please include a giant friggin' Harpoon Gun weapon for your airships please, because that thing was so awesome

Why Don't We Talk About Playstation Mobile?

Two separate posts that appeared in my twitter feed a few nights ago inspired a momentary bit of rage at their misleading titles, but it struck me as odd afterwards since they were not, in essence, lying about anything.  I'm not going to link them, but the separate posts each basically were titled something to the extent of "(Game) is coming to Playstation Vita!" in which the two games were Chaos Rings and Tokyo Jungle.  Chaos Rings is one of Squeenix's Cell Phone RPGs that I haven't put a single bit of looking into, but Tokyo Jungle is something...different.  Tokyo Jungle is something that I would very much like to see on my Vita.  The only thing is, when you actually -read- the posts, the turns out the context is that of a Playstation Mobile release for each of the two, not one that goes through the channels that makes it an official Playstation Network game.  So, as stated, I was annoyed by that at first and thought to write it off completely.

Then I wondered -why- though.  Why was the fact that they were Playstation Mobile titles and not PSN titles a -bad- thing?  Since if I reacted negatively, it has to mean that they're a bad thing.  I have to say, though, that I do think I've figured it out, and it's a little disheartening as to what I think the reasons are.

Playstation Mobile, if you're unaware, is a side-platform available to developers/publishers to bring their smaller games, generally from the iOS/Android market to Playstation-Certified devices which doesn't specifically mean Vita, but the Vita is one of the devices that PSM works well with.  I think that distinction itself harbors a little ill-feeling towards it since we generally don't -like- the smaller, casual phone games that proliferate the iOS/Android market.  Cell phones aren't gaming devices, they're not made to be one and they're not specialized for the task (or customizable to be so), they're simply things that -can- run games...for a couple hours and then the cell phone batter dies and completely kills the reason for its existence. 

It certainly doesn't help that the limited architecture of the devices means for games that, in general aren't nearly as deep as we're used to in terms of story, length of play (though, given some AAA titles, this could be argued heavily) and things of that nature.  There are exceptions of course, and that list grows longer by the day, but the stigma for now is Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and to some extent even Plants Vs. Zombies as fun little 'time-wasters' and not generally 'games' in a broader, deeper sense.  (I'm not looking to get into the pedantry that evolves from that type of statement.  Yes, Angry Birds is a game, but it's also shallow in comparison to 95% of the games, even downloadable titles, that are released on 3DS/Vita.)

So, in opening a storefront for that specific type of product that is literally housed in the same application in which you can buy full Vita games that offer the type of experience that we're used to, you're sort of asking for trouble.  It also doesn't help that PSM is sort of Playstation's version of the whole XBox Live Indie Game scene in that it simply doesn't get a lot of advertisement and the games don't benefit from things that everything else on the platform -can- (aside from PSP games).  We were assured long ago that Playstation Mobiles would eventually be able to support things such as trophies, leaderboards and the other niceties that we're used to these days, but that was almost a year ago and I haven't heard a peep about it since.  Perhaps it is a bit difficult considering PSM covers the PSP and Playstation-Certified Phones, but it should be possible.  Basically what this means is that, even if you don't -care- about those types of things, you might see their lack of inclusion as them being a lesser game, which makes you less-inclined to buy it and play it when that $3 or so could be spent towards something else that feels more 'supported' in the grand scheme of things.

Still, I remind myself that games like Dragon Fantasy Book I were born on iOS, meaning great things -can- come from that sort of device.  These two titles, I think, are a boon for the platform since Chaos Rings is something I could not play otherwise, but I just might.  I'd like to see what kind of UI changes are made considering the game doesn't have to have giant buttons all over the screen before I make a judgment call on that.  However, the version of Tokyo Jungle that is coming to Playstation Mobile seems...like something rather 'interesting'.  In other words, more Tokyo Jungle than Tokyo Jungle already was.  It's not going to be the same game as on PS3, the wander-around roguelike in which you can have a pomeranian take down a dinosaur eventually, but it will be close.  Shane Bettenhausen, someone who seems close to the Indie side of Playstation, describes screenshots of the Playstation Mobile version of Tokyo Jungle as "FFT with gazelles and pomeranians" which is...enticing in its own way.  Thankfully enough, the release date for the American version of Tokyo Jungle's Mobile iteration is Next Week (I believe the 10th) same as Japan's release, so we'll get to try it out then.  And you can bet I'm going to give it a shot.

basically I just need more SRPGs like FFT in my life and bonus points if they're exceedingly weird like Tokyo Jungle

On RPGs And Their Modern Relevance

Role-Playing Games, as a genre, have been a tricky sort to really pin down for a long while, with last generation bringing more and more games to the fray that have RPG-like elements that, by virtue, draw them into the fold.  I remember being a wee lad (okay, not -that- young, but still) playing Deus Ex, thinking of it as purely a First-Person Shooter, even though I had the ability to augment my character, and I still recall my reaction when it was presented to me as a Shooter/RPG hybrid.  "What?  No that....no."  It was a strain on my little mind to consider that having something of that nature, simply that control over a character-build, would boost it to 'RPG hybrid', but over time we've seen more and more of that, so it's hard to argue against it any longer.  Sub-genres started branching out, if you will, to cover some of the more unique spins taken with the traditional 'RPG' keys, but last generation at least, it seemed that the classic, oft-referred to now as "JRPGs" always had a place.

Now however, it's much, much harder to find games of that same style that we grew up with because RPGs, as a measure to preserve themselves, seemed to take on more and more elements from other games.  It's hard to take any single 'mainstream' RPG from this generation and say "Yes, this is a pure RPG" because the bulk of them are at least Action hybrids.  Some argue that the above Final Fantasy XIII was one of these (though these are also more or less the same people who balk at considering FF XIII an FF game at all, or a 'good' game to top) and with its sequel following its roots, there's not a whole lot to argue with beyond the base-line.  Much less so when the third in the series, Lightning Returns, is definitely going to be more of an Action-oriented game, focusing more on free-form movement than conforming to the ideal of anything resembling turn-based combat which many cling to as a definite 'tell' of an RPG.  As a main-stay of the genre, it's straying from the 'roots' is definitely telling of the state, though some would argue that Final Fantasy XI's and XIV's Online ventures are much on the same level.

Other efforts from this generation have been met with similarly luke-warm receptions and it always seemed to be because there was too much clinging to the old or too little for the 'fans' to grab hold of.  White Knight Chronicles would be my first example here as it was somewhat panned, I think, for its attempt at a traditional/modern blend combat style that was very reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII's system.  Which, at the time was reviled, but has apparently become good at some point in the years it was released, though WKC gets no such revisionist mercy.  Regardless, it offered a look into RPG theory as well since it was not only a non-traditional game for the combat system, but it also brought Multiplayer into the genre in a way that hadn't really been handled before.  Not only was the character you used -your- character (who was not even the protagonist of the game) but the questing approach it took with that character and the general world-building aspect of it really elevated it into something all its own, which I applaud.

The place to look towards for 'classic' RPGs, however, seems to be not the people who we've relied on to give them to us, but the people who were tired of waiting on those people.  The RPG concept is odd in that, for a big studio, it's almost suicidal to delve in since you have to spend a lot of time on art, on the plot and story, on the characters, and on fleshing out a system, not to mention voice-acting which apparently is a requirement anymore.  For a little studio, however, if you can do all the character-stuff and writing with two dudes (minus the voice acting) then we don't really need -super- graphics, but will instead settle or even go for something a little more reminiscent of the classic style.  That's where Zeboyd Games, makers of Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World (Pictured) and the recently released Penny Arcade Adventures 3 (I forget if they dropped the OTRSPOD or not), comes into play with their retro style for RPGs that have appeared to scratch that itch many of folks have felt.  I haven't played one myself yet because I lack a 360 and a PC that I have any desire to game on, but the praise is out there and it's not little bits of recognition certainly - they're a known group now and they've carved out their own little place to stay.

Similarly, the RPG Maker scene, which is something of a still-unheard group as far as I can tell, has been toiling away, putting out RPGs that most of us could likely go forever without hearing about unless your attention was drawn to it.  A little game called Exit Fate is one of those, in that were it not on the LP Archive, I could have likely never known it existed.  That would've been a real shame, too because it's a rather wonderful little game, I've learned.  The art isn't the best and it's literally made in RPG Maker (and with no real original music, most of it nicked from other games) but the story, where most RPGs bread is buttered, is actually not bad, though mid-way through I do worry for where it might go.  At best, it'll do something I'm quite surprised with, but at worst it will basically carbon copy another popular RPG (that it has nicked music from, even) and I'll be less than impressed.  Regardless it's Suikoden-style of play (down to recruiting a lot of people and having actual war battles) is endearing and its story, as I've said, has been good so far and even if it ends with a plot hook taken right from another game, the way there would have been worthy enough at least.

It's funny to me in that case, as Indie RPGs being a thing, and a thing that is touted even, is not a new development, yet nobody really seems to have jumped on it just yet.  Two generations ago, on the Playstation 1, I could buy RPG Maker (not to be confused with the PC iterations, I believe both 'series' were made by the same folks) and, were I committed enough, make an RPG that I could only share with people nearby by way of handing over a Memory Card and the game(?).  This was similarly the case up to the Playstation 2 where the third iteration of that particular series was released and, from what I can tell, the last.  The delivery method of completed games was similarly rudimentary which really cut out the incentive to make one as, well, the whole point of designing, of creating something is more or less to make it available for people to appreciate it for what it is, and perhaps even the effort that went into it.  Done right, it basically gave you all the tools to make a game, however, and that's basically the key to it all there.  While not as flexible, theoretically, as a PC version, the whole games industry has basically been founded on people doing extraordinary things under limitations.

That's all pretty much why I am flabbergasted that this theory, this set of tools was literally only available until there was an adequate means of game delivery.  This generation has been a boon for User-Generated Content no matter where you turn, and the integration of the internet for that has been vital to its success.  Games like LittleBigPlanet which give you the tools to make -something- and then let everyone with a copy of the game play it embrace this and have shown us the absolutely incredible things that can be done with mere tools in the right person's hands.  Imagine now if you give them the tools to create, albeit a likely dated-looking RPG with what we really have available nowadays.  The PS3 at least has been open with its ability to support KBAM which would make it that much more flexible for interested parties and between the Vita and 3DS, we have touch screens for detail work and control beyond where simple buttons and sticks would take too long.  (Like for typing.)  While not ideal, neither was it on PS1 and it's much, much more palatable and beneficial nowadays.

Still, what's up in the air and what I think might just remain up in the air forever is just what constitutes an RPG, or even what allows a hybrid to call itself an RPG.  Without pointing fingers or calling anyone out, I recently saw somebody say basically in the same breath, "Dark Souls is an RPG, Valkyria Chronicles is not".  Specifically, it was in reaction to IGN being....IGN and throwing together an ill-advised Top 100 RPGs list that, in essence, probably spurned this post along by proxy.  I'm not sure if they actually have the entire top 100 up, nor do I care in the least, but their 100-90 picks apparently have caused a stink already by including some titles that people would expect to be in the upper tiers.  In response, other lists were made and I saw one list in particular list Dark Souls as their number 1, which raises the question again and again that I've been asking myself all day and that I've been asking this whole post.

I haven't played Dark Souls, mostly on the merit that I've barely played Demon's Souls.  (Also because I haven't bought it, but for the same reason)  However, I know -about- the game, and I specifically know more about it than I would have because the oft-mentioned Helloween4545 has been doing something of a Let's Play of it since it was released on PC.  I have absolutely nothing against Dark Souls and in fact, I think it's a fairly interesting looking game by its own merits.  But I'm just not seeing "RPG" from it simply because yes, there are stats in the game that you can increase.  It is almost the definite, by-the-books definition of an Action/RPG if anything which I had, prior to today, thought exempted it from being 'an RPG' by merit of it being more Action than RPG.  I can, however see calling it an RPG if you are making the term broad, but when you add in the extra qualifier that Valkyria Chronicles is -not- an RPG by whatever rules we're using then I simply have no idea.  I am lost, completely and utterly by those standards and even typing this up, I can't really find any other method to convey that.

By the standards that Dark Souls is an RPG, so is Nier which means that it would rank quite high up there on my own personal list since it has, what appears to be, the qualifiers.  Stats, magic, damage in numbers, monsters that are not humans that you coincidentally murder, that's all there.  Party members, even.  Which is what I can only assume is what excludes Valkyria Chronicles, but honestly the process is all a bit too much effort than I want to put forth.  By that measure, I really don't think it's too worth it to try and pin down what an RPG 'is' anymore since it's obviously beyond our control.  We can hold on to the main-stays that we remember from growing up, but similarly, I doubt we're going to get many more of them with the way things are anymore.  The Handhelds we have are basically our last bastions, provided that those aren't abandoned in favor of cellphones.  While it seems a foolish thing to do, it's happened already and likely won't stop, but we can hope that it won't be the -only- trend.

I think what I ended up with in my ramblings is a few points that I've probably muddled up by now, so I'll try to crisply recap them here.  We'll all always have the 'glory days' of RPGs, the times we spent with similar, but wildly different systems, but it seems that most everything has 'moved on' from there.  Today's 'modern' RPGs are dying out by their own design since they remain a niche, yet seem to be developed as if that fact has not been very firmly established, leaving us with a noticeable gap in releases that have more or less been filled with other types of games entirely.  Indie developers and projects have shown us that they don't necessarily have to be that way, but it's hard to see if they will catch on beyond a few note-worthy studios, and even if so, we're probably beyond the days of them being 'console' titles.  Relegated to the PSN/XBLA platforms at best is what we'll likely see in terms of that and, with any luck, that sort of mindset will take things fully onto our handhelds because they are much more easy to develop for, and cheaper too, especially as the new generation looms over us.  I'm not concerned that the RPG genre is on its last legs in the traditional sense, but I wonder when it will rise back to prominence all the same.

Review - Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

In the current state of gaming, there's not a whole lot of Classic RPG action to be had unless you look towards the portable systems and even then the pickings are fairly slim.  In many ways, I imagine we can all blame this on how RPGs became the 'cool' thing to make for a while there after the successes of Squeenix (then Squaresoft) and other such well-known RPG makers which ended, as it always does, with an entire cadre of games that not only miss the point of being an RPG in some fashion (poor story, poor gameplay, etc), but sour entire chunks of gamers to the genre itself.  Combine that with the fact that some of the fore-front of RPG Makers lost sight of how to make a good one (debatable of course, but the idea that Squeenix is not the Square of old is a popular one, likely with good reason) and it's easy to see why it's a rather neglected caste of gaming.

It's not until a game comes around that is so undeniably good at defining what the genre is and what it can be that you get people reinvigorated, people that are now hungry for this, as they have tasted of the fine cuisine and look towards the rest of the banquet for more.  For some, the game that did that was the punishing but lovable Persona 3, whose care for not only its own story, but for its characters, soundtrack and gameplay elevated it from something standard to something great.  For others it was a game that likely started this hunger rather than reignited it like Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy VII, whose mastery of the essential RPG make-up served as the best intro to RPGs that one could hope for.  And I guarantee to you with full weight and understanding of what this means to say that, for some people out there, one of these such games was Legend of Heroes:  Trails in the Sky.

When Trails in the Sky was heavily recommended by fellow Vita owners over at Penny Arcade for people looking to delve into the PSP back-library, I took a look at the $20 pricetag and said "Well, there's other stuff that I should buy first, but this game will actually be new to me.  It's been a while since I've really played a -new- RPG" and promptly slapped down my purchase of it alongside Persona 3 Portable and Final Fantasy Tactics:  War of the Lions.  (At least, I think I bought them all at the same time, but downloaded them at different intervals, it doesn't matter much though.)  As faithful readers of the blog know, I crawled, ran, jumped and powered my way through Persona 3 Portable, clawing and scraping at its precipice before pulling myself up and over it, having finally conquered the challenge that was playing and beating the game.  Satisfied with this victory, I decided that it was finally time, in this interim before Resistance:  Burning Skies is released, to play Trails in the Sky as I was still rather in an RPG-playing mood.

I was greeted by a game that simply oozed charm with its engaging characters of Estelle and Joshua Bright (related by semi-adoption) as well as their father, Cassius, who was what they aspired to be:  A Bracer.  In the world of Trails in the Sky, a Bracer is, essentially, a person who mediates problems, whether they be big or small, who is then compensated fairly for the task.  In simpler terms, they are Adventurers who are tasked by the citizens (through the Bracers Guild) to do whatever they desire for them.  From looking for a specific mushroom in a monster-infested forest to exterminating rather large and unique monsters near cities to investigating the disappearance of an heirloom, Bracers do it all, meaning their skills cannot simply be focused in combat.  To that end, Cassius is a full-fledged Bracer and, from what the intro makes it out as, a rather important one as well, where Estelle and Joshua are only now able to begin to qualify as Junior Bracers or, put simply, Apprentices.

Without getting into it too much, the distinction between Junior Bracers and regular Bracers is not only in the type of jobs they're able to take, but just -where- they can take said jobs.  To qualify as a Full Bracer, one has to work in every main branch of the Bracers Guild long and hard enough to receive a Recommendation of Full-Fledged Status.  Five of those later, and you're qualified to then take on jobs from any branch, which said jobs will also entail more and more danger, relying on your heightened level of skill to surmount.  Being that a main plot element of the game is that Estelle and Joshua are Junior Bracers on their path to be Full Bracers, I felt it was important enough to detail a little.  Aside from that, I just think it's a really neat little idea that, while not ground-breaking, manages to push the story along in a way that isn't contrived as well as have an impact on actual elements of the story.

Like the rest of the game, the Bracers Guild is alive, is vibrant and detailed enough that it feels like something that is very natural, something that frames the game well, and, most importantly, the Guild is not loved by one and all.  I find that if you have something that the main character is a part of that the rest of the game world either A.) Doesn't know anything about it or B.) Unconditionally adores and/or relies on, it starts to lose some of its luster as it just doesn't seem like a reality.  Regardless of how petty the reason is, you're likely to have some detractors no matter what you do, or even something of a rival organization that shows up.  And, indeed, a rival to the Bracers Guild is mentioned, but the full impact of it, I'm not about to even begin to spoil because that's something you just have to play the game for.

My point with talking about the Guild was to say that it feels well-established, and nicely thought-out, much like the characters of the game.  I credit it to any game that manages to make their characters feel like people since, well, so many games don't accomplish this, falling either to making them stereotypes or tropes or, in the case of several RPGs, simple plot points or exposition machines.  It should be a basic requirement for anyone wanting to make a game, especially an RPG, that they can make real, tangible people cast as the characters, but it's such a rarity that it's a little unfortunate, yet telling of the situation RPGs are in, as explained above.  Still, the degree to which Trails in the Sky manages would be lauded even in better conditions, as I find myself feeling genuine things for the characters, despite only being in contact with some of them for short stints.

Particularly wonderful in this is our main character Estelle who I think is a prime example of a properly done RPG main character, in all honesty.  What makes Estelle a great Main Character is the fact that she doesn't know everything, but she's not so clueless that everyone has to rather clumsily explain every little thing that a denizen of the world would likely know even if they lived under a rock.  It's played off by her ditziness, her inability to pay attention to most things that aren't fights and simply her personality, but she offers a way for the player to be informed of things in a very natural and well-reasoned way.  She's not about to pull out some random fact about this town or that statue, because you don't know about it, because she doesn't know about it, which is mostly because of her naps during school and lectures and the like.  For random trivia and a wellspring of knowledge, we have Joshua who is presented as a character that just knows something about everything, making it, again, natural and well-reasoned.

Something I have been, and will continue to try to hammer in, is the amount of charm, care and detail that's been put into the game, which is something that you pretty much have to experience first hand.  I mean, I can tell you about how the dialogue is engaging and entertaining, sometimes outright funny, making every conversation enjoyable.  Or I can tell you that the amount of "This chest is empty" lines that are in the game is staggering, to the point where I honestly thought that every single chest had its own unique empty message until about the halfway point where I finally found a repeat.  I could go on about how the sprite work and animation is rather lovely to watch and seeing the details incorporated in certain moments is almost amazing, but really, you just need to play the game to understand.

Something that I can apparently go on and on about, however, is the mechanics of the game which are not entirely divorced of the charm that permeates the rest of the game pleasantly.  I don't think I need to elaborate on the Cooking System anymore, of course, except to say that of course right after I figured out that trick about the Apple Ice Cream, money no longer became an issue.  Of course.  Regardless, that little exploit about the system isn't wholly unrealistic, at least not too egregiously, so it's not even like it's poorly thought out or anything, it's just supply, demand, and markets.  I would like to reiterate that it was a pretty fantastic idea for making sure you could keep your team well-supplied and in good health without relying on just buying the equivalent of potions here and there.  If you want to be purely technical or, well, just a purist, there's really no reason -to- touch Cooking, provided you can get the cash for regular healing items, but the option is good enough that it doesn't feel tacked on or anything, nor does it overshadow regular items.

Another nice little mechanical facet of the game is the Quartz system which is what is in place for all your Magic needs.  It works in a way that is not wholly different from the Materia system in Final Fantasy 7 in that you equip a piece of Quartz (that may or may not be an orb ala materia) to your Orbment to be able to cast spells of its elemental type.  Red/Ruby Quartz will allow Fire-based magic and Strength buffs, Green/Emerald Quartz is for Wind-based magic and Agility buffs, etc. etc.  The types are Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, Gold and Silver, where the former four are the elements, Black is time, Gold is mostly support (Move bonuses, Cuts EP needed to cast Arts, etc.) and Silver is a different kind of support, mainly covering how visible you are to enemies on the map and such things.  They all have their own elemental values so you won't lose out on potential spells if you throw down a couple Silvers or Golds, either.  The Quartz themselves also offer buffs for simply equipping them, meaning that the system can be as deep as you desire.

One of the mechanics that I am unfortunately not in love with is, and this is kind of a big deal, the battle system.  Of course, it's not at all that I dislike the battle system, as I like it, but it definitely has a few things in it that just make me want to poke it because it feels like they're sticking out unnaturally.  The main thing being the Tactics-lite movement system that is incorporated into the battle system as a base mechanic.  I say Tactics-lite because when you go to move somewhere (whether it be to attack or just use the 'move' command), your available range shows up as a grid, showing the furthest points available, ala tactics game.  Unfortunately, it's a bit superfluous for attacking as, unless you've really messed about with your battle formation and such, you're pretty much -always- going to be within walking range of an enemy and vice versa, meaning that moving outside of range is something that doesn't always work.

What's worse is that the "Move" command is, in all but the slimmest of scenarios, absolutely worthless since Moving takes your entire turn while not offering extended movement range or anything.  Its only use is for moving out of the way of Arts that are charging up and can be move out of range for, which is half of them at most.  Arts that set area limits (without targeting a character) or use a straight line as a guide, these are the only Arts that can simply be sidestepped rather than the ones that just need to be stopped through the use of Impede, be it from an innate Quartz or a Craft (special attack) that specifically says it has Impede as a side-effect.  Or you could just kill the enemy before it fires off, of course, since the action list on the left side gives you a good gauge of what happens when, being its only job and all.

Well, not its -only- job and I have to applaud this part of the battle system at the very least.  As you might notice in the above picture, there are little icons next to the portraits in the List, and these represent different bonuses that the person or monster in that slot will receive at the start of their turn.  Much like Final Fantasy X, the list order can be played around with through the use of speeding up and slowing down fighters (friend or foe) to ensure that your team gets the bonuses whenever possible, adding a nice layer of strategy to the battles.  Also useful in this venture is the S-Break system which, as you might imagine, sort of mimics the Limit Break system and other variants on that.  After attacking and being hit, your Craft Points accumulate and you can use these for Crafts (attacks and support things, mostly) or, if it hits 100, you can use an S-Break that can be activated at anytime, effectively 'stealing' a place in the action list.  Particularly useful utilization of this is activating one when it will coincide with a Critical or Strength Up bonus.

Regardless of my gripes, limited as they may be, about the Battle System, they're pretty much the only real cons I can attach to the game.  The rest of it is solid and then some, taking something that's good and elevating it to something great just as simply.  I think, if anything, that's the real strength of Trails in the Sky:  It doesn't do anything really outlandish, deciding on sticking to the basics and ensuring they're used to their fullest extent for quality.  It's not going to blow you away until you realize that it's simplicity, its willingness to not try to 'innovate' everything and instead work on what works to its fullest potential, is what should blow you away.  I could harken it to Chrono Trigger in this aspect, which is a tall comparison, simply because its simplicity allows it to truly shine as something truly great.  It's for that reason that I opened this review by stating that it is likely someone's "This game made RPGs good for me [again]" game.  And it's for that reason that I'm basically frothing at the mouth for the next game in the series, because I want it now.

The Good

• The characters are well-defined and crafted with care, definitely filling their own roles without being tropes
• The story is elegant and simple, yet offers enough mystery and intrigue to keep you interested until the end
• The Cooking System is a welcome addition to "Ways your characters can heal", as it provides something cheap and non-standard (as well as a cashflow that won't stop)
• The Quartz System for Arts allows for simplicity or depth, depending on whether you balance "Who has what Spells" versus "What buffs/bonuses can I give to these characters"
• The world feels alive, and has its own nicely established lore that isn't clunkily handed to you in lectures
• It's honestly just so charming and old-school that it'll harken back to the "Good Days" of RPGs
• That Ending
• Estelle is a fantastic main character

 The Bad

• The Music in the game is nothing to write home about
• Monsters don't drop Mira (money), so you can't effectively farm cash (outside of abusing the cooking system)
• The Difficulty curve gets a -little- off-kilter at parts, but not dramatically so
• The Movement part of the Battle system is useless and drags the whole thing down some
• By design, it's actually sort of linear in that, once you leave a city (in the main story), you generally can't go back for some time
• I don't have the next friggin' game in the series

Mogs Says

Look, I'm going to lay it on you really simply here.  Look on the Playstation Store on your PSP or Vita.  Find out how much the game is.  ($20 for North America)  Procure that amount in Playstation Cash and buy it.  That is, of course, if you have -any- interest in RPGs whatsoever, and aren't put off by a "Simplicity is best" system, since it's not going to introduce Squeenix levels of complexity at any point in the game.  This is a heavy recommendation from me because the game has more than wormed its way into my heart which is rapidly growing by the years to have more and more spots for "My Favorite Games", which honestly sort of surprises me.  I enjoyed the game that much.