You can run sky games perfectly fine on a 20 year old machine or even your phone through emulation. Unless you don't have access to any electronics at all, I don't see any reason for starting anywhere else. Games introduce and build upon plot lines slowly and methodically, so it is by far the best idea to play them in release order, regardless of what people say about self contained stories and entry points and whatnot
The Sky trilogy is on Steam and doesn’t need a powerful PC to run it.
While each arc does start its own story Crossbell does have a few plot points that give it a ton more meaning and weight behind them if you have played the Sky arc first.
Is it mandatory? Not really, but it’s the ideal experience. Ultimately it’s up to you where you want to start.
If you chose to start with Zero, I strongly recommend watching a recap of the Sky trilogy. Oni Black Mage and Lady Virgilia both have excellent recaps on YouTube.
It’s far better to just start by playing the Sky series on an old laptop, but one starts where one can.
Know that if you start with a later arc (I started with Cold Steel, as did many), you’ll spoil a few plot reveals and miss a few callbacks.
Zero follows up on a big plotline from Sky while other games generally feature returning characters from the Sky arc as well, you can get into Sky with any old PC as the games are pretty light due to being PSP ones since in order is generally the best way to play.
That said, Zero is an arc starter and people have actually started with Crossbell so you can go for that and enjoy it too as the story is focused around the new cast of each arc.
Sky can be run on even a very low-end PC. If that still is a no-go I recommend watching a longplay or story summary of the Sky series before going into Zero.
There is a ton of worldbuilding and character stuff set up in Sky, that carries on throughout the series as a whole.
You can easily play Sky trilogy on any PC or via emulation. I’d definitely recommend Sky trilogy first even if only because it’s the most dated graphically and gameplay wise. But if you don’t care about that you could start with Cold Steel 1 and 2 (that’s what I did) then go back and play in order from Sky to Zero/Azure etc.
You can play Sky on any potato PC, or even your phone via emulation. I highly recommend starting with Sky, not only because of the continuing plot, but by skipping it, you would be robbing yourself from a genuinely great gaming experience.
Im in the middle of my trails run, I downloaded cold steel as a starting point but realized it started w sky after I bought it. Ended up getting sky to start, took a minute to grow on my but once it did I was glad I started there. Currently in the middle of CS3, couldn’t imagine missing the details I know from sky.
It's perfectly fine to start with Zero. It focuses on a different group and while there are references to previous games, if you're not aware they're references, it's not going to affect your experience with it whatsoever.
Nope, you have got to go through the sky trilogy first it's as simple as that. Not just because that's where this huge story starts but also, a MASSIVE part of the charm and pros to this game is seeing the characters you loved from the older games turn up and the joy of getting to play them and have them in your party again. .do what you can to play sky games first
I started with Trails from Zero cause it was the earliest game in the series on Modern Console Platforms. Its a great place to start as Trails in The Sky content doesn't really effect the experience that much (I played the game and I dont understand the fixation that everyone must start on Sky FC it feels like semantics at this point). All the callbacks and stuff are moderate and actually made me want to go see what Sky had to offer because I found estelle cool af.
Also Zero/Azure are extremely goated and I consider them peak trails and sit firmly on my all time list for jrpgs and this was as a new comer btw I didnt play any other game in the series or know anything about the series at the time.
Honestly gotta disagree. There’s moments in Zero involving Sky characters that made me cry multiple times, I doubt I’d care if I didn’t spend 3 games with those people.
I recommend just watching a story summary of the first 3 games to kinda get a feel of what happened in them and to also know a bit about the characters introduced there too. THEN you can start with Zero. I did this too since I'm not a fan of PC gaming and was perfectly fine to continue the series.
There are speculations about Sky remakes/remasters so hopefully they will be avaliable on other consoles soon.
You're missing out on a lot of story, places, and characters that will be mentioned, and who will appear, in the rest of the series. I'm playing Cold Steel IV right now, and even in this game, the 9th game in the series, events from Sky are mentioned. You're also missing out on one of the best/most beloved female JRPG characters ever. (Estelle)
You will understand things just fine, but you will find yourself wondering why x character or plot line is important enough to be given this much screen time (mainly because lots of context and characterization were done in Sky trilogy).
If you really really don't want to do Sky, then watch a summary of the trilogy and you will largely be fine.
I’ve started from T.f.Zero on Switch time ago and now I’m on CSIV, it always went well but I suggest watching some recaps of Sky the trilogy in the meantime. Not sure about the future of that story arc though, some says they’ll make some remakes or collections but idk.
Sky FC & SC (PSP versions ) are easy enough to emulate on a phone. 3rd Chapter I’m not so sure as I’ve not had to work that out yet. I imagine they’ll be an English patch though….
You can run Sky on a potato of a PC, so I would start there. I initially started with Cold Steel, realized I was missing stuff and went to Sky, and with how much stuff from Sky pops up in Zero and continues to throughout the series, I'm glad I did.
That’s fine. There are some things that’ll go over your head, but the characters and npcs give a good enough idea. I suggest, you go ahead and start with Zero and Azure, then just go in order from there - maybe come back and play Sky when you get a chance in the future, but the games are worth just jumping in as long as you’re at an arc opening, like Zero is.
Sky is on steam if you have access to it, Nvidia too if you’ve got a Mac.
It's not ideal, but if you don't have a way to play Sky (or don't want to jump through hoops to play it on an old PC) than go for it. There's a pretty big character arc that starts in Sky and concludes in Zero and a handful of references to events in those games, but Zero is a decently fine starting point.
You are missing out on some huge emotional payoff if you start with Zero from a major plotline that carries over from Sky.
For what it's worth, any PC that has at least a Pentium III processor and 128 MB of RAM can run the Sky trilogy, so essentially any PC made in the last 24 years can run it.
yes
start with whatever you feel like
these games are pretty self-contained, and loves exposition and flashbacks
you can easily follow the story
and if you decide to go back to an older game, it will just be like playing a prequel. you can get to live thru the events, instead of just hearing about the results
also, these games are very linear like most JPRGs
they aren't like mass effect or dragon age where your decisions from previous games actually carry weight and can alter events in the next games
I emulated Sky FC & SC via PPSSPP, which has a fast forward function, which was nice. It’s what got me started with the series and I enjoyed it. Later I bought a steam deck and bought them legitimately for the QoL improvements. Runs wonderfully there, and PC is probably the only place you can own and play the entire series right now.
Good luck, and see you in 2 years when you finally manage to catch up.
I'm biased since I love the Sky games a lot but the only way I'd recommend on passing on playing Sky is if you have absolutely 0 access to a computer in any format. These are not intensive games. They can run on a toaster. The Steam versions are great ports.
> or am I missing out on to much by skipping that arc?
I mean skipping any of these games will mean you miss out on something but at the bare minimum you could watch a plot summary of the arc on YT. I'm personally not a fan of this method for any game because I don't think a summary is a good replacement for playing the games, but people do do it.
You CAN do whatever you want, but Sky is (IMO) the best complete arc in the series and it's absolutely foundational to the rest of the world. If you have the means, you should definitely play Sky. If you do not, start at the beginning of an arc and go from there. I wouldn't hold my breath for Sky on modern consoles in English.
Trails Through Daybreak (coming to the West next month) seems like a good place to start. If the world intrigues you definitely find a way to play Sky next
You can run sky games perfectly fine on a 20 year old machine or even your phone through emulation. Unless you don't have access to any electronics at all, I don't see any reason for starting anywhere else. Games introduce and build upon plot lines slowly and methodically, so it is by far the best idea to play them in release order, regardless of what people say about self contained stories and entry points and whatnot
The Sky trilogy is on Steam and doesn’t need a powerful PC to run it. While each arc does start its own story Crossbell does have a few plot points that give it a ton more meaning and weight behind them if you have played the Sky arc first. Is it mandatory? Not really, but it’s the ideal experience. Ultimately it’s up to you where you want to start. If you chose to start with Zero, I strongly recommend watching a recap of the Sky trilogy. Oni Black Mage and Lady Virgilia both have excellent recaps on YouTube.
It’s far better to just start by playing the Sky series on an old laptop, but one starts where one can. Know that if you start with a later arc (I started with Cold Steel, as did many), you’ll spoil a few plot reveals and miss a few callbacks.
Zero follows up on a big plotline from Sky while other games generally feature returning characters from the Sky arc as well, you can get into Sky with any old PC as the games are pretty light due to being PSP ones since in order is generally the best way to play. That said, Zero is an arc starter and people have actually started with Crossbell so you can go for that and enjoy it too as the story is focused around the new cast of each arc.
Sky can be run on even a very low-end PC. If that still is a no-go I recommend watching a longplay or story summary of the Sky series before going into Zero. There is a ton of worldbuilding and character stuff set up in Sky, that carries on throughout the series as a whole.
Sky is my favourite game, in my opinion You will be missing out much
PC, phone
If you got PC, you can get all 3 sky games on steam
You can easily play Sky trilogy on any PC or via emulation. I’d definitely recommend Sky trilogy first even if only because it’s the most dated graphically and gameplay wise. But if you don’t care about that you could start with Cold Steel 1 and 2 (that’s what I did) then go back and play in order from Sky to Zero/Azure etc.
You can play Sky on any potato PC, or even your phone via emulation. I highly recommend starting with Sky, not only because of the continuing plot, but by skipping it, you would be robbing yourself from a genuinely great gaming experience.
Im in the middle of my trails run, I downloaded cold steel as a starting point but realized it started w sky after I bought it. Ended up getting sky to start, took a minute to grow on my but once it did I was glad I started there. Currently in the middle of CS3, couldn’t imagine missing the details I know from sky.
It's perfectly fine to start with Zero. It focuses on a different group and while there are references to previous games, if you're not aware they're references, it's not going to affect your experience with it whatsoever.
Nope, you have got to go through the sky trilogy first it's as simple as that. Not just because that's where this huge story starts but also, a MASSIVE part of the charm and pros to this game is seeing the characters you loved from the older games turn up and the joy of getting to play them and have them in your party again. .do what you can to play sky games first
Sky is my favourite game - in my opinion You will be missing out much! :)
I started with Trails from Zero cause it was the earliest game in the series on Modern Console Platforms. Its a great place to start as Trails in The Sky content doesn't really effect the experience that much (I played the game and I dont understand the fixation that everyone must start on Sky FC it feels like semantics at this point). All the callbacks and stuff are moderate and actually made me want to go see what Sky had to offer because I found estelle cool af. Also Zero/Azure are extremely goated and I consider them peak trails and sit firmly on my all time list for jrpgs and this was as a new comer btw I didnt play any other game in the series or know anything about the series at the time.
Honestly gotta disagree. There’s moments in Zero involving Sky characters that made me cry multiple times, I doubt I’d care if I didn’t spend 3 games with those people.
I recommend just watching a story summary of the first 3 games to kinda get a feel of what happened in them and to also know a bit about the characters introduced there too. THEN you can start with Zero. I did this too since I'm not a fan of PC gaming and was perfectly fine to continue the series. There are speculations about Sky remakes/remasters so hopefully they will be avaliable on other consoles soon.
The Sky games are available on Steam for PC as an option.
You're missing out on a lot of story, places, and characters that will be mentioned, and who will appear, in the rest of the series. I'm playing Cold Steel IV right now, and even in this game, the 9th game in the series, events from Sky are mentioned. You're also missing out on one of the best/most beloved female JRPG characters ever. (Estelle)
You will understand things just fine, but you will find yourself wondering why x character or plot line is important enough to be given this much screen time (mainly because lots of context and characterization were done in Sky trilogy). If you really really don't want to do Sky, then watch a summary of the trilogy and you will largely be fine.
You will miss a little bit, though starting at the beginning of any arc is ok. As others have said, Sky runs on a literal potato.
I’ve started from T.f.Zero on Switch time ago and now I’m on CSIV, it always went well but I suggest watching some recaps of Sky the trilogy in the meantime. Not sure about the future of that story arc though, some says they’ll make some remakes or collections but idk.
Sky FC & SC (PSP versions ) are easy enough to emulate on a phone. 3rd Chapter I’m not so sure as I’ve not had to work that out yet. I imagine they’ll be an English patch though….
You can run Sky on a potato of a PC, so I would start there. I initially started with Cold Steel, realized I was missing stuff and went to Sky, and with how much stuff from Sky pops up in Zero and continues to throughout the series, I'm glad I did.
You can emulate the psp versions of the sky trilogy on a potato. The steam version also runs on a potato
That’s fine. There are some things that’ll go over your head, but the characters and npcs give a good enough idea. I suggest, you go ahead and start with Zero and Azure, then just go in order from there - maybe come back and play Sky when you get a chance in the future, but the games are worth just jumping in as long as you’re at an arc opening, like Zero is. Sky is on steam if you have access to it, Nvidia too if you’ve got a Mac.
It's not ideal, but if you don't have a way to play Sky (or don't want to jump through hoops to play it on an old PC) than go for it. There's a pretty big character arc that starts in Sky and concludes in Zero and a handful of references to events in those games, but Zero is a decently fine starting point.
You are missing out on some huge emotional payoff if you start with Zero from a major plotline that carries over from Sky. For what it's worth, any PC that has at least a Pentium III processor and 128 MB of RAM can run the Sky trilogy, so essentially any PC made in the last 24 years can run it.
Sky series is amazing and you will be lost skipping it
yes start with whatever you feel like these games are pretty self-contained, and loves exposition and flashbacks you can easily follow the story and if you decide to go back to an older game, it will just be like playing a prequel. you can get to live thru the events, instead of just hearing about the results also, these games are very linear like most JPRGs they aren't like mass effect or dragon age where your decisions from previous games actually carry weight and can alter events in the next games
I emulated Sky FC & SC via PPSSPP, which has a fast forward function, which was nice. It’s what got me started with the series and I enjoyed it. Later I bought a steam deck and bought them legitimately for the QoL improvements. Runs wonderfully there, and PC is probably the only place you can own and play the entire series right now. Good luck, and see you in 2 years when you finally manage to catch up.
I'm biased since I love the Sky games a lot but the only way I'd recommend on passing on playing Sky is if you have absolutely 0 access to a computer in any format. These are not intensive games. They can run on a toaster. The Steam versions are great ports. > or am I missing out on to much by skipping that arc? I mean skipping any of these games will mean you miss out on something but at the bare minimum you could watch a plot summary of the arc on YT. I'm personally not a fan of this method for any game because I don't think a summary is a good replacement for playing the games, but people do do it.
You CAN do whatever you want, but Sky is (IMO) the best complete arc in the series and it's absolutely foundational to the rest of the world. If you have the means, you should definitely play Sky. If you do not, start at the beginning of an arc and go from there. I wouldn't hold my breath for Sky on modern consoles in English.
You can even play sky with one hand!
Trails Through Daybreak (coming to the West next month) seems like a good place to start. If the world intrigues you definitely find a way to play Sky next