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The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Man, it feels like I've been waiting for this one forever. It's been like 5 years since I last played a Trails game because I refused to continue on to Cold Steel III because of how important the missing games were going to become. According to Steam, I beat Trails in the Sky the 3rd in May 2017 and Trails of Cold Steel II in March 2018. So yeah, it's been a while... After years of hearing people talk about how the Crossbell games were the best ones, it was hard not to go into this one with insanely high expectations. I didn't necessarily expect them to be my new favorites but I did expect them to be among the better ones. So I'm happy to say the game actually exceeded my expectations! It manages to recapture the same comfy vibes as the original Trails in the Sky while having a plot that's more immediately engaging. It's a slow burn like the first Sky game but even the early chapters have you investigating stuff that feels important. You only find out how everything is connected later in the game but, unlike my first playthrough of Trails in the Sky, I didn't spend most of my Zero playthrough wondering when the plot would start. I can now appreciate that Trails in the Sky was actually setting up a shit ton of stuff but it took a replay for me to end up loving it as much as I do now. That being said, Zero simply has the better story. The last few chapters in particular were very my shit. The game takes one hell of a creepy turn and I was super into it. It also manages to tell its own story while simultaneously paying off on things set up in the Sky trilogy. I was pleasantly surprised by how often Estelle and Joshua showed up and the way one particular plot thread left hanging in the Sky trilogy was wrapped up in Zero was pretty great. I even teared up a little. Another similarity to Sky is that Zero focuses on a smaller, tight-knight group of characters again. In Sky, you get Estelle and Joshua as your main two and the other two slots are filled by a rotating cast of characters that are gradually introduced and each given time to develop and shine. In Zero, you get your four mains out of the gate and, other than the occasional guest party members, that's who you'll be playing with for most of the game. So they all have their moments and by the end of the game you actually care about everyone, unlike Cold Steel where like half of Class VII could jump off a cliff and I wouldn't really give a shit. I think my only "issue" (I wouldn't even call it a nitpick, really) was the ending. I love me a good cliffhanger and I was bracing myself for the game to hit me with something at the last second that would make me need to start Trails to Azure immediately. And it just... never happened. The game ends with a few big questions left unanswered but by the end of it the current crisis is resolved and you leave everyone on a satisfying note. Hell, even that one big spoiler you inevitably get if you play Cold Steel first didn't happen! I was sure that was going to be the focus of either the ending or the final chapter but nope. That's not something I can hold against the game, though. So yeah, I was expecting the ending to make me need to start Azure immediately but it just doesn't. I mean, I still want to start Azure soon. It's not like there's anything else I'd rather play right now, I just don't feel like there's any rush now lol. Although if I don't start it now, I might cave and get Baldur's Gate 3 because the hype is starting to get to me. And then who knows when I'll have time to get back to Trails...