Game:

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd (2007)

Duration: 3:41:19

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Originally recorded: October 10, 2022
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Okay, this is starting to get ridiculous. While admitted, finishing up wasn't quite as clear cut as it was in the past, the fact that I somehow managed to get through Chapter 4 is a single stream just feels absolutely ridiculous at this point. In terms of story segments, I'm literally halfway through the game already. I mean, I know that this game was supposed to be the shortest of the trilogy... but the idea that I could possibly finish it in less sessions than even the first game just strikes me as ridiculous.

We got a whole bunch more characters back this time around -- literally an entire party's worth. Having said that, I did appreciate the game putting Joshua in the "mandatory sidekick" position for Chapter 4, if only because we really didn't get to spend much time with him in SC. But we've finally got back literally everyone we had at our disposal for SC's epilogue, plus Reis (of course) and even Analace. I guess I already knew about Analace being a playable character in this game from screenshots, but that makes me wonder if we've got even more characters to collect as we continue onward. I mean, there are two particular characters that show up on one of the game's pieces of cover art that haven't really shown up much in the game itself. I'm wondering if they'll end up being added to the playable cast, as well as various other one-offs like Kurt. Maybe even the Capua brothers? I mean, from a narrative context, it sounds like this is all the characters I'm going to get... but who knows.

Chapter 4 felt like pure fan-service to me. I absolutely loved the Le Locle segment in SC, so coming back to the setting with some slight remixes was pretty cool. As for the finale, well, I've got mixed feelings regarding Kevin getting his hands on an offensive S-Craft. On the one hand, he's been my go-to for defense ever since that fight against Loewe. But on the other hand, Spear of Loa is pretty awesome -- both in terms of presentation and damage. Good thing I'll have some time to consider what to use as his S-Break.

Fortunately, since I've got three sessions lined up for this week, I'm going to take next time to do some of the side content I've discovered... as opposed to just going straight into Chapter 5. I'm hoping that the references to chess means that this next one is going to be another chapter that allows me to use most -- if not all -- of my remaining party members. Seriously, the cast is getting pretty big right now and it just makes me feel bad to leave anyone out. I think that's what I loved so much about Chapter 3: you literally had to use *everyone* to progress. Going back down to just one four-member party after that for the fourth chapter is probably the only part I didn't enjoy about it... especially since the cast has almost doubled since then. At least they managed to write out Ries for Chapter 4 (and it seems like they're writing Kevin of all people out of Chapter 5), but you can already see some pretty high level gaps between various characters.

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