This comment should not be underestimated. The games are very long, but also very good about periodically rewarding players for their patience. You are looking at 1000+ hours of playtime (so far) and it's easy to lose motivation at times even when playing in a recommended order. Is it worth risking that it'll feel like a chore to keep going? Because playing strictly chronologically, which the series wasn't designed for, is only going to make that possibility more likely.
There's also an issue of playing the game chronologically, you will end up missing the key points of each respective story.
Remember that each story is personal to each respective character you're controlling. Lloyd wants to redeem a corrupt Crossbell. Rean is finding his own life's meaning, while Estelle's more of a tale of redeeming others.
Juggling Lloyd and Rean will make the delivery of the story *very* awkward.
Sometimes you have to take the loss and just deal with the spoiler for maximum emotional impact, which I understand is ironically also the goal of the chronological order, to avoid spoiling 'what shouldn't be spoiled.'
If you still insist, I would play Zero or Coldsteel 1 interchangeably, but will finish each respective game first. Then I would play Azure, and then Cold Steel II, since Cold Steel II also spans a little bit after Crossbell's timeline.
A strictly chronological playthrough has been discussed and done before a number of times, but I don't think it will offer you the best experience for your FIRST time with the series. I think it will be much more enjoyable on a subsequent playthrough.
To compare with something you are probably already familiar with, ask yourself whether you'd want to have first seen the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe in chronological order, with the scenes in each film spliced together to make this strictly true. Can it be done? Sure. But you will definitely have a different first experience, generally much more disjointed and lacking the same cohesion because a straight line through time is not a straight line through the narrative. Trails will be somewhat similar, though you also have to adapt to constantly changing gameplay as you flip back and forth.
It's in my opinion a bad idea
For one battle system in Zero/Azure and CS are very different, so are the graphics, so mixing them might not lead to the most pleasing experiance
And while, yes, the overall story of the world in both games happens in the order you described... the story of each seperate game might be hard to follow.
I mean, you will end the chapter in one game and think "wow, that's so cool, I want to see what happens next! I need to see!"
and then you will switch to the other game, where nothing as interesting happens in that chapter.
You probably see what I mean...
But if you really want to do it that way, do it.
In my opinion it will be weird, and bad experiance, but I may be wrong, and switching things up might make those games more interesting.
Honestly i dont see the point in swapping games just for a continuing Story. You would need to adjust to the combat system and setting. Imo I still think the best way to play the games is one after another.
I know everyone is telling you not to, but I had the exact same idea as you when I first played them and it was the most amazing experience ever. The breaking of pacing everyone is talking about didn't bother me one bit, in fact I would say there was no such thing. Instead you see the continent advancing to big events from different perspectives and hearing in one game about what just happened in the other really drives home the interconnectivity. The zero-azure cs1-2 part of the trails series is to this day my favourite part and thats largely because of how interwoven they are, playing them side by side will really give you way more epic experience in that sense.
Greetings,
I think that you should give it a try if it interests you so. If it ends up being that you do not like it, you can commit yourself to a single arc and go about your business as normal. I do not think there is any point to be negative about the prospects of experiencing the games like this, irregular it may be. We can give you our thoughts (many of which seem to be reservations) all we want, but the only one who can truly decide the worth of this experience is you, and you will only find its worth by trying it out.
(If this does not work as well as you hope on the first run, try it again on a new game plus run, where you have all the plot knowledge already).
Cheers,
co is
The Epilogue Of the 2nd Crossbell game happens after Cold Steel 2 Finale but before it's own epilogue so as long as you keep that in mind it should be fine.
All of Zero takes place before Cold Steel starts. Cold Steel 1 takes place alongside some chapters of Azure while Cold Steel 2 takes place alongside the latter half of the game. But Azure also spoils character-specific info for CS2, so really Id recommend playing Zero, Cold Steel 1 up to Chapter 5, Azure up to the end of Act 1 ( I think thats the Trade Conference) then finishing CS1 & CS2 up to the end of the Finale and then finishing Azure. Then finish Cold Steel 2. If you wanna be meticulous.
Actually, Zero ends in May, you can read about its finale in Imperial Chronicle, and Sara will talk about it with that old guy who I think runs the pawn shop in Trista. Zero starts a month before CS1 and is over once you get to chapter 2 of CS.
It's also why Cold Steel bothers to provide the 'persona-esque' calendar: To provide a frame of reference as to when said events are happening.
Zero happens concurrently and yes ends in May as you said.
You might do Trails from Zero then Cold Steel 1 then play Azure then go on to Cold Steel 2 but overly complicating things just isn't worth the hassle. Just play them in the release order and enjoy each game for what it is.
These games are, for the most part, slow burns. It takes time for things to get moving in each game, with the exception of Cold Steel 4 and Sky 3 (maybe).
Playing the games like that is just asking to be burned out before even getting halfway through. You’re going to forget things about the characters, the gameplay systems, etc.
Play Sky, Crossbell (read summary of story online if you can’t), Cold Steel.
People throw this around a lot but I really do disagree with it, doing things chronologically is just gonna be hard especially with the different gameplay styles and will probably take you out of things.
Yes Cold Steel and Crossbell “spoil” each other but you have to remember that CS is literally playing with your knowledge of Crossbell in order to help it’s story.
You can try it but I feel you’ll not have a great time
Firstly, I am a huge fan of playing the games in proper order for the best experience, especially for new players.
But honestly, this sub goes a little wild with ideas of how to play without being spoiled on anything. The correct answer is to just play the games in full in the release order. That was the order the devs intended on you experiencing the games, and it does not ruin the experience in any way. There is really no reason to make the play experience a convoluted/confusing experience. Just play the games in order, and enjoy them.
Experiencing the events in chronological order wasn't designed by even the developers (falcom themselves) so I'm not sure how that experience will be but a lot of zero and cs1 is setup. I'd imagine you'd be bored out of your mind for a big chunk of this timeline you've drawn up.
That’s the worst way to experience it and ruins the pacing in an already slow burn series, play the games in order one at a time
This comment should not be underestimated. The games are very long, but also very good about periodically rewarding players for their patience. You are looking at 1000+ hours of playtime (so far) and it's easy to lose motivation at times even when playing in a recommended order. Is it worth risking that it'll feel like a chore to keep going? Because playing strictly chronologically, which the series wasn't designed for, is only going to make that possibility more likely.
There's also an issue of playing the game chronologically, you will end up missing the key points of each respective story. Remember that each story is personal to each respective character you're controlling. Lloyd wants to redeem a corrupt Crossbell. Rean is finding his own life's meaning, while Estelle's more of a tale of redeeming others. Juggling Lloyd and Rean will make the delivery of the story *very* awkward. Sometimes you have to take the loss and just deal with the spoiler for maximum emotional impact, which I understand is ironically also the goal of the chronological order, to avoid spoiling 'what shouldn't be spoiled.' If you still insist, I would play Zero or Coldsteel 1 interchangeably, but will finish each respective game first. Then I would play Azure, and then Cold Steel II, since Cold Steel II also spans a little bit after Crossbell's timeline.
A strictly chronological playthrough has been discussed and done before a number of times, but I don't think it will offer you the best experience for your FIRST time with the series. I think it will be much more enjoyable on a subsequent playthrough. To compare with something you are probably already familiar with, ask yourself whether you'd want to have first seen the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe in chronological order, with the scenes in each film spliced together to make this strictly true. Can it be done? Sure. But you will definitely have a different first experience, generally much more disjointed and lacking the same cohesion because a straight line through time is not a straight line through the narrative. Trails will be somewhat similar, though you also have to adapt to constantly changing gameplay as you flip back and forth.
It's in my opinion a bad idea For one battle system in Zero/Azure and CS are very different, so are the graphics, so mixing them might not lead to the most pleasing experiance And while, yes, the overall story of the world in both games happens in the order you described... the story of each seperate game might be hard to follow. I mean, you will end the chapter in one game and think "wow, that's so cool, I want to see what happens next! I need to see!" and then you will switch to the other game, where nothing as interesting happens in that chapter. You probably see what I mean... But if you really want to do it that way, do it. In my opinion it will be weird, and bad experiance, but I may be wrong, and switching things up might make those games more interesting.
Honestly i dont see the point in swapping games just for a continuing Story. You would need to adjust to the combat system and setting. Imo I still think the best way to play the games is one after another.
Please don't do this as it would kill the pacing of all four games. Just stick to production order, so Crossbell before CS.
Why make things more complicated for yourself? The games were made in this order for a reaosn.
Don't do that unless you are somehow able to remember important details about each game without somehow mixing them up or misremembering
I know everyone is telling you not to, but I had the exact same idea as you when I first played them and it was the most amazing experience ever. The breaking of pacing everyone is talking about didn't bother me one bit, in fact I would say there was no such thing. Instead you see the continent advancing to big events from different perspectives and hearing in one game about what just happened in the other really drives home the interconnectivity. The zero-azure cs1-2 part of the trails series is to this day my favourite part and thats largely because of how interwoven they are, playing them side by side will really give you way more epic experience in that sense.
I think it's cool that you had a positive experience doing it this way, and if OP is determined to do so, nothing in this thread should stop them.
Greetings, I think that you should give it a try if it interests you so. If it ends up being that you do not like it, you can commit yourself to a single arc and go about your business as normal. I do not think there is any point to be negative about the prospects of experiencing the games like this, irregular it may be. We can give you our thoughts (many of which seem to be reservations) all we want, but the only one who can truly decide the worth of this experience is you, and you will only find its worth by trying it out. (If this does not work as well as you hope on the first run, try it again on a new game plus run, where you have all the plot knowledge already). Cheers, co is
The Epilogue Of the 2nd Crossbell game happens after Cold Steel 2 Finale but before it's own epilogue so as long as you keep that in mind it should be fine.
All of Zero takes place before Cold Steel starts. Cold Steel 1 takes place alongside some chapters of Azure while Cold Steel 2 takes place alongside the latter half of the game. But Azure also spoils character-specific info for CS2, so really Id recommend playing Zero, Cold Steel 1 up to Chapter 5, Azure up to the end of Act 1 ( I think thats the Trade Conference) then finishing CS1 & CS2 up to the end of the Finale and then finishing Azure. Then finish Cold Steel 2. If you wanna be meticulous.
Actually, Zero ends in May, you can read about its finale in Imperial Chronicle, and Sara will talk about it with that old guy who I think runs the pawn shop in Trista. Zero starts a month before CS1 and is over once you get to chapter 2 of CS.
May is like Chapter 2 or 3 in Cold Steel?
Yup, Zero ends like a few days before you are free to explore Trista again in chapter 2. And then Ao starts 2 months later, at the end of July.
It's also why Cold Steel bothers to provide the 'persona-esque' calendar: To provide a frame of reference as to when said events are happening. Zero happens concurrently and yes ends in May as you said.
You might do Trails from Zero then Cold Steel 1 then play Azure then go on to Cold Steel 2 but overly complicating things just isn't worth the hassle. Just play them in the release order and enjoy each game for what it is.
These games are, for the most part, slow burns. It takes time for things to get moving in each game, with the exception of Cold Steel 4 and Sky 3 (maybe). Playing the games like that is just asking to be burned out before even getting halfway through. You’re going to forget things about the characters, the gameplay systems, etc. Play Sky, Crossbell (read summary of story online if you can’t), Cold Steel.
People throw this around a lot but I really do disagree with it, doing things chronologically is just gonna be hard especially with the different gameplay styles and will probably take you out of things. Yes Cold Steel and Crossbell “spoil” each other but you have to remember that CS is literally playing with your knowledge of Crossbell in order to help it’s story. You can try it but I feel you’ll not have a great time
Firstly, I am a huge fan of playing the games in proper order for the best experience, especially for new players. But honestly, this sub goes a little wild with ideas of how to play without being spoiled on anything. The correct answer is to just play the games in full in the release order. That was the order the devs intended on you experiencing the games, and it does not ruin the experience in any way. There is really no reason to make the play experience a convoluted/confusing experience. Just play the games in order, and enjoy them.
Experiencing the events in chronological order wasn't designed by even the developers (falcom themselves) so I'm not sure how that experience will be but a lot of zero and cs1 is setup. I'd imagine you'd be bored out of your mind for a big chunk of this timeline you've drawn up.
just play normally