The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki Ⅱ -CRIMSON SiN-

Trails fans held hostage by Cold Steel for 5 games can't handle a game not pushing their "Grand narrative" for 5 seconds and call this installment trash because its mostly character building. But for anyone who doesn't just regurgitate that this is a pretty good game that does basically everything Kuro 1 does but better, we go more indepth with each cast member, the rollercoaster pacing of the first game is almost completely gone for a smoothed out experience, the game doesn't shove 3+ sections of 4spgs down your throat before the finale.
Kuro 2 handles being a middle game better than most, instead of pretending like its in a position to move the plot it just makes you fall in love with the cast and moves the plot a teensy bit, I'd expect opinion of this game to go up after we get the third game, but at the moment everyone is upset because they can't take more character development games, so this will go unappreciated until that rabid need is sated.

I think a lot of people aren't as satisfied with this game because it doesn't advance the overall Zemuria plotline which is fine by me cause I think some of the best games in the series (Sky 3rd, Zero, Kuro 1) don't or barely do at all anyways. Convinced the people complaining are sky 3rd skippers which is hilarious considering the best part of this game follows up on something they setup back in third. This game feels like more of a Kuro 1.5. Spends time fleshing out characters that needed more screen time in previous games, a little more backstory on Van and teasing about his relationship with Elaine which is pretty nice. Kuro NPCs continue to be PEAK and the sidequests were also consistently fantastic. The gameplay has seen a couple balancing changes which made the game WAY more fun than the first to me. Still horribly unbalanced but definitely an improvement over the first.
While the main story is occasionally a mess (act 3 lol) Van largely ends up out of focus so the game can build up the rest of the office + a few returning characters who all definitely needed some more time on screen. If you somehow hated the cast of the first game you probably won't like it but if you at all enjoyed Kuro 1 this will be a great time.
Looking forward to playing Kai

As per usual, Kuro no Kiseki II is yet another great entry in the Legend of Heroes franchise even though it's not without its fair share of flaws. It doesn't really advance the Calvard arc plot forward very much but it does expand on character backstories from the previous game and offers more gameplay variety in the form of mini games. The OST has some good tracks but also some mediocre ones so in that sense it's perhaps not quite what we've seen in the past from LoH game but it's still of sufficient quality overall. Overall, I enjoyed my time with the game and am highly anticipating Kai no Kiseki, which should be out in September 2024 in JP.

My favorite trails game. I absolutely adore this game despite everything. It's so different form the Cold Steel Arc, but connects back to the feel of the Sky Arc. This game scratched the itch I've been waiting for in this series, and I couldn't be happier. Van is my favorite protag in the whole series, and the rest of the Kuro cast is exquisite. The Twist and Turns in this game kept me on the edge of my seat which I haven't felt seriously from a trails game in forever. They went dark with it, and people will be mad that they didn't commit to it, but I'm just impressed they even went that way in the first place. The prologue stunned me and made me want more. I need Kai no Kiseki please I want to see Van again, the villains as well. The intermission is single handedly the greatest piece of writing and gameplay in the series, and I don't think I'll ever forget it. Combat was awesome. It was a straight upgrade from Kuro one and I couldn't be happier. The blend of Turn-Based and Action combat was so unique and I'm glad to see they made it better here. Magic was a great addition to the field combat as a whole. I also can't decide whether Elaine or Agnes are the better pick for #1 girl. Maybe both? If I had to pick one, then Elaine. Love the childhood friend dynamic, but Aaron will always be the true best girl in my heart.

An excellent game with much of the stock in this one going towards enhancing the gameplay and battle systems. Coming from Kuro 1, this feels like a much more complete vision of the game, with the field combat sections being greatly enhanced with the addition of quick arts, the new tag system on dodges, and enemies having much more threatening attack patterns on the field. Enemy variety and enemy packs are also greatly improved, with some interesting dungeon designs coming in towards the middle and latter half of the games, a first for the Trails series overall. Fishing and mini-games make their return as well, having some welcome evolutions in those regards as well. The shard search function while interesting, reminds me a bit too much of Assassin's Creed Eagle Vision or Batman Detective Vision, constantly pressing it to see things ruining some of the nice new areas and vistas available in this game.
Narrative-wise, this is a direct sequel. In the sense that, these two games are incredibly closely connected I would almost be tempted to lump them in together under the same umbrella. It continues and expands plot threads from the previous game, giving more screen time to characters who largely didn't get much time to shine in Kuro 1, while also expanding on some of the relationships and themes presented in Kuro 1. I almost feel as if the team had run out of time, and so had to split the game into these two halves, which would explain the quick release date between the two. When coming into this one, simply keep in mind that it has much more of a focus of tying up threads in Kuro 1 itself, rather than purely pushing the Calvard arc as a whole. Although the 'time' mechanic has offered some pretty interesting narrative moments that are pretty unique to the series as well, and how it plays and dances around those were some of my favorite moments in this game.
Nonetheless, it is an excellent game and an excellent addition to the Trails series by cementing the fun kinetic nature of the field battles, and the deep tactical systems present in the command battles. It added some welcome variety in the gameplay and iterated on all of the best parts in the first game while also adding some new stuff. I'm very much so looking forward to seeing what Falcom has next up their sleeves in Kai no Kiseki.

故事：
轨迹主线故事进度很微妙，不过个别角色塑造得到全面升华，
填了不少坑，也挖了不少坑。
游戏性：
结合了原野和回合制的玩法实在太棒了！
如今在原野可以使用魔法攻击，
期待在下部游戏也可以在原野使用战技！
各式各样的破格回路/魔法驱动器也可以让角色从玩法上做出各种演变，
让角色不再拘泥在物理/魔法输出角的框架。
小游戏犹如篮球和钓鱼也很让人放松，
至少不用为了钓鱼而把手柄按坏了。
不过
虽然拥有可观的可操控角色，加上回廊的回归，但个人觉得爽度不比创之轨迹。
游戏机制大大限制了物理输出的方式，
如果需要做出大伤害的话几乎只能依靠魔法输出（某魔法实在太破格了）。
敌人的掉落物和回廊的奖励实在很难引起玩家刷刷刷的欲望，
玩到最终章敌人还在掉落基本的回复药是怎么回事？
或许游戏想突出交换的机制，
但是U物质也太难刷，游戏都玩到全成就了角色都还没有完整的回路配置。
卡片游戏也是一言难尽，闪之轨迹的VM它不香吗？
歌曲：
法老控的歌曲你可以放心！
总结：
推荐就是了！我要成为地下后宫王！

Turns out you can't skip this game losers :) The game is perfect this ain't cold steel anymore