Topic: Nihon Falcom

Okay new thread for more general discussion since the other one ended up becoming less specialized.

Message body was apparently too short, so I guess I'll say something else. Ys seems really cool to me, and once I finish my Trails binge, I may play some of the games.
Actually on second thought nvm I'm broke

@xenobladexfan @metaphysician @nep-nep-freak @Mgalens @JaxonH hi guys new thread has been made

@Bluelink45, thanks for inviting me (even though I'm a bit busy with other games that aren't Falcom games at the moment). As of right now, I do intend on playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter before the end of 2027, since I hear the remake's script is true to the original Japanese and I like English localizations that treat the original script with respect 😀.

@Bluelink45 thanks for the invite

Currently playing through ys x proud nordics and the 120fps mode is amazing.

ty for invite/mention.

Proud nordics definitely looking great, am also eagerly awaiting the port of Celceta since that game has a special place for me, i have some really fond memories around winter 2013 being super hyped about the game on vita and it has such a cozy vibe to it, has a more laid back vibe than some of the previous ones (and later ones) due to having a more town areas than most games and sidequesting on it can feel more like a Trails game, i do remember finding completing the map more awkward than VIII though since unlike that game it doesnt track your % in each area IIRC, only the overall map percent and the game world is pretty damn big so it can be annoying when you are are looking for those last few % but not knowing which area they are in, the game also only has one slot for exploration items so it means switching them a lot and one of the most abrupt endings ive seen in the series, these issues though i found minor compared to the aspects i enjoyed about it, theres also some nice locations for a game which started on Vita.

but yeah looking forward to replaying that one, am also hoping we see CS 1 and 2 down the line since i would love a chance to replay them especially with the added knowlage from the crossbell games

I really enjoy seeing fan art on reddit:

Also xseed said that they don't have the rights to the CLE port of cold steel 1 and 2 for switch which is ashame, I hope Falcom port the games themselves.

Am curious to see if it will end up like the Zero/Azure situation where another company handles the port (such as with PH3 in a couple of cases) in the west (iirc CLE already had ports of the game on switch before that though they seemed to be closer to what the PS4 versions were rather than have the PC enhancements like the western PH3 ones) though it does also make me wonder that if CS 1/2 were to get native switch 2 versions it would be likely that they were in-house by falcom so would be viable.

If they do Cold Steel 1 and 2, I would frankly prefer that they were released physically on Switch 1 as well as 2 (and with DLC on cartridge too, pretty please 🙏). Also, Sky 3rd Chapter remake.

That way, I can just have the whole series up to Horizon all as physical copies on my completely offline Switch (which will be made offline after I get my Switch 2) 🎉. And all those cartridges can also be played on my connected to the internet Switch 2 that I want to get in the near future.

A man can dream.

@Nep-Nep-Freak
oh yeah would love to see them get switch 1 ports too, im not sure if the CLE ports are available in japan too or if those are just for other asian regions but would imagine releases on switch 1 in the west would be new ports by a third party (PH3 being probably the ideal case since their work is great) wheres with switch 2 i imagine if they got ported to that then falcom would handle it since iirc the CLE ports were before falcom started working in-house (i think nayuta in japan was the first in-house switch port)

Metaphysician, reporting for duty! ahem

I'm mostly just making my way through Trails Beyond The Horizon atm. Though I eagerly await info about any new releases, and I'll probably get the updated Ys X version sometime in the nearish future. Especially since its available on GOG, and I want to channel as much Falcom support to GOG as possible. Hopefully Gung Ho gets the message and finally starts selling the Sky remakes there.

I started playing Beyond the Horizon a few days ago and man.
Like, I understand time has passed. I understand the writers in the writing room are different. I understand that the reasons will probably be explained later.
But, quite honestly? Kevin's characterization is making me not want to play this game.
Kevin is my favorite character in this series, full stop, and yet my boi is being ruthlessly mischaracterized at this point, its kinda crazy.
Has someone in this thread played both 3rd and Horizon and can tell me if his writing improves at all? Because, at the moment, it's like the writers forgot his arc from 3rd existed, and its genuinely ruining my experience with the game

turns out the April 28th date retailers gave is correct

Relevant:

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2026/03/nihon-falcom-annou...

Time will tell exactly what this project is, mind.

Having finished Horizon, yeah, I really didn't like what they did with Kevin. It felt like a worse retread of 3rd.
Major spoilers from here on for both Sky the 3rd and Horizon. Yeah, Kevin's arc of "i feel really bad about hunting Latoya" really didn't do it for me at all. He had no development, and the whole time was just Rufus and the rest of the picnicking front going "you don't actually want to do this, do you?" and that was a plot point that was done so much better in Sky the 3rd. Like, seeing that Kevin's thoughts and hopes created a hell for him to suffer in tormented by his victims for all eternity kinda pushed that idea already, I don't need Swin telling him it again. And at the end, he didn't even pull the trigger, which is like, why? If you wanted to tell an interesting story, have him pull the trigger and deal with the fallout. That would've been interesting.
Van's route was okay, but it felt so overblown for the story it was trying to tell. I'm usually a big slice of life guy (Azure and 3rd are my favorite games, in equal parts for their overall plot progressions and their calm moments), but i genuinely could not tell you a single fun character moment from Van's route aside from the fake Grimcat.
Rean's route suffered from my main problem with Cold Steel, in that everyone but Rean is made into pacified babies the second he arrives. Seriously, nobody but Rean does a single thing on that route, besides Celis and Leon, but they aren't even a part of the main party!
Yeah, all the complaining aside, I'm excited for where the worldbuilding and overall plot is going next, and i feel like that ending would be the refocusing the plot needs. I've felt like, for the past bit minus Daybreak I, the story has lost its focus, but I think Horizon's ending kinda fixes that. please don't be another Millium situation please Falcom let choices have consequences

@Sylamp
definitely looking forward to this, really enjoyed celceta, am hoping it has the option to swap to the original ost though since i do preffer the original ost for most of the tracks and it feels like some of the ones i loved in the original dont quite hit as hard for me in the remastered ost (particularly "black wings") it does feel like a few tracks give quite a different vibe to the original too, it kind of reminds me more of the osts to the "evolution" games where its more different takes on the themes wheres the ost for something like sky 1st is going for more of the vibes of the original tracks.

I have officially caught up on Trails, not counting the remake.

. . . so when is Beyond The Horizon 2 coming out? ahem