Man, it's a miracle that this even came out...
The first game was great back when I played it. And then the delays arrived. Lol.
https://youtu.be/k6oLRis7QXo

So nine hours in I hit the first real boss of Trails in the Sky and I'm playing on Hard. Physical attacks are nearly worthless against her. Spells do a bit of damage, but I don't have a ton of EP (the game's equivalent of MP) and I have no way of replenishing it. The game has something of a Final Fantasy VII Limit Break esque system, and those do good damage, but can't be used frequently and SHE CAN HEAL HERSELF. Plus, she has a chance to petrify a character, and I'm not sure if there's any items available to heal petrify, and if a character is knocked out while petrified, the points that build up the limit break thingie (CP) go back to 0. Gonna have to load my save and make sure I enter the battle with full EP and a lot more items.

Good game so far.

This game is weirdly modest and humble. It feels like a game about doing side quests, which isn't the most exciting thing ever, but I like Estelle and Joshua. The game feels like playing a couple of nobodies in a fantasy world. They really don't feel like the main characters in the setting, though I'm only 8 hours in so that might change. The game also doesn't have inns and not a lot of places recharge your EP (which is basically MP), plus the items that recharge EP are expensive and the enemies hit pretty hard and the game doesn't just shower you with money. It's kind of hardcore, but not like Nocturne or Etrian Odyssey.

Also, 8 hours in and still in the prologue. I'm not sure the developers understood what the word prologue meant.

3 hours in and the Prolouge BEGINS. How long is this game!?

Trails in the Sky is a great story-driven rpg that mixes old-school sensibilities with a uniquely grounded setting. Said world-building is the greatest strength of the Kiseki series: I cannot think of another jrpg that has a comparable amount of layered lore and thought behind it's world. The story itself isn't anything mind-blowing, and takes awhile before the plot starts to reveal itself, I wouldn't say it feels slow-paced due the characters being strong enough to carry the game. Estelle in particular is a great protagonist, with a bubbly personality she doesn't lose even as she matures in her character arc. The game can be pretty verbose at times, but the writing and localization is sharp to justify this. The script is the game's strength.

The battle system is decent, although is a step too slow for what it is, and random battles are too easy half the time. And the music, with a few exceptions, is fine but not as good as Falcom is capable of.

Highly recommend.

A game with great presentation where you play as the love interest of your abusive jerk brother. The dialogue is poorly written and overwrought, the characters suck (with Joshua honestly being the worst party member I've ever seen in a JRPG), and an interesting combat system that doesn't work as well as it seems like it should. It honestly feels like they used the first draft of a script and didn't bother playtesting much at all. If you have a platform that plays this, then you have one that has plenty of far better JRPGs. This might be the worst thing Falcom ever put out.

Trails in the Sky is a huge improvement over previous Legend of Heroes games. The battle system adds in a unique skill to add strategy by interrupting a monster's turn. The quest system also immerses people into the role of a rookie warrior. The dramatic cliffhanger at the end will also leave people begging for more. Trails has an incredibly satisfying story with one of the most lighthearted journeys in the life of a teenager.