I can't really find the words to describe how I felt with this game. It's probably my favorite entry in the Cold Steel arc so far, but it's also the trails game that's really gotten on my nerves the most. Because of this, I have a lot of gripes with this game despite how much I actually enjoyed it. This is probably the most tropey game I have ever played, for better or worse. These games are EXTREMELY anime, so your typical anime shenanigans take place, but holy f*cking sh*t the stuff this game gets up to is mind-numbing at times. Sh*t like everyone talking about how much Rean's sister wants to bang him (They're not blood related at least so that makes it slightly less disgusting), everyone trying to ship Agate and Tita together (Despite the fact the he met her when she was 12 and he's like twice her age), and Musse's entire existence (Does she really need to talk about how much she wants to bang Rean in like every other dialogue box?!). Honestly the fact that every woman who meets Rean wants to ride his ♥♥♥♥ is kind of annoying. I don't mind harem part of the game in in and of itself, it's just the fact that the game treats Rean like he's the only man left on the planet. The writing has also taken a noticeable dip in quality, with a lot more eye-rolling and stunted dialogue. Every time a big group is together in a dungeon or story event they all have to take their turn spouting their generic heroic one-liners and every time the game does this I roll my eyes further into the back of my skull.
Now I know I basically just wrote a whole essay b*tching about the game, but I really do like it. The negatives of this game really piss me off, but I think the positives outweigh it. One thing these games always get right though is the characters. I actually vibe with everyone in the new Class VII (Except Musse), especially Ash and Altina. And Rean actually ends up getting a lot of character development, which is nice because it helps him beat the self-insert character allegations. This game focuses on Rean a lot, actually. One common criticism of this game is the fact that Rean gets too much focus, but I personally didn't mind too much. I actually liked all the moments where Rean got to have a 1v1 fight with an enemy, since it shows that Rean isn't just some kinda strong student anymore, he's a full-fledged swordsman on the path to mastering the One Blade, Eight Leaves school. Also this game has Aurelia and gives her more focus which automatically makes this the greatest game ever made. Best character in the Trails series so far imo, I can't believe they actually let you have one of the strongest human beings alive as a party member, even if only for a short time. I believe in Aurelia Le Guin supremacy, she's the f*cking goat and I will not hear otherwise.
I didn't expect this review to be this long, lmao. I thought i'd just write a paragraph about annoying I think Musse is or how much I want Aurelia to do unspeakable things to me, but as I started typing I found I had a lot more to say. Even though this review had about an equal amount of criticism and praise, I promise you that I actually really liked the game. I genuinely had a lot of fun with the slice of life moments, walking around Leeves getting to know all of the students and the NPC's who live there. There's more I could talk about, but I've been yapping long enough. I'll end this by saying I strongly recommend getting into this series (But make sure you start with Trails in the Sky, since it's the first game in the series.
